Stephen
Crabb, Philip Dunne, Bill Wiggin and James Duddridge, just who the
hell do these thugs think they are?
It is one thing to have a whipping
system to ensure support for or against any particular government
proposal. It is quite another thing to
have what seems, from their reported actions, to be something more
resembling a group of “enforcers” from the plot of a cheap Hollywood B
movie.
No matter what some MP's may subsequently say, it is outrageous and, to me at least, completely unacceptable, that an elected member of Parliament, a representative of the people, can be ejected from the parliamentary estate as a result of what is no more than a fit of pique on the part of the PM and his thug whips.
On Tuesday night (10th July 2012), the government withdrew a motion on the timetable for the Lords Reform bill, as it became clear that scores of Tory MPs would defy a three line whip and vote against. This action seems to have provoked a temper tantrum from the PM, who confronted Jesse Norman MP, (who masterminded the rebellion over Lords reform), just outside the House of Commons division lobbies.
A short time later, Tory whips sought out the rebel leader to suggest he should leave the parliamentary estate for the night. As he relaxed with fellow rebels in the Strangers' Bar shortly after the vote, four whips entered the bar to ask him for a private word. The whips – Stephen Crabb, Philip Dunne, Bill Wiggin and James Duddridge – were said to have confronted Norman in an even more aggressive manner than the prime minister. A rebel MP source said, "The whips went to find Jesse and basically told him to go. They basically said to him that he knew he had damaged the government and he should leave”.
These four “enforcers” should be publicly chastised for their outrageous behaviour which, by any measure, is a breech of privilege.
No matter what some MP's may subsequently say, it is outrageous and, to me at least, completely unacceptable, that an elected member of Parliament, a representative of the people, can be ejected from the parliamentary estate as a result of what is no more than a fit of pique on the part of the PM and his thug whips.
On Tuesday night (10th July 2012), the government withdrew a motion on the timetable for the Lords Reform bill, as it became clear that scores of Tory MPs would defy a three line whip and vote against. This action seems to have provoked a temper tantrum from the PM, who confronted Jesse Norman MP, (who masterminded the rebellion over Lords reform), just outside the House of Commons division lobbies.
A short time later, Tory whips sought out the rebel leader to suggest he should leave the parliamentary estate for the night. As he relaxed with fellow rebels in the Strangers' Bar shortly after the vote, four whips entered the bar to ask him for a private word. The whips – Stephen Crabb, Philip Dunne, Bill Wiggin and James Duddridge – were said to have confronted Norman in an even more aggressive manner than the prime minister. A rebel MP source said, "The whips went to find Jesse and basically told him to go. They basically said to him that he knew he had damaged the government and he should leave”.
These four “enforcers” should be publicly chastised for their outrageous behaviour which, by any measure, is a breech of privilege.
Comments
Post a Comment