Owen Paterson

[Francescaisstressed]

Political parties aside, surely Owen Patterson avoiding suspension and the Tory party changing the rules for the mates goes against the very core of democracy?

When the people in power can bend the rules when they seee fit, and have noone to hold them to account I find it incredibly troubling.

Is there a way to see who has paired?

@kirinm

I love that Owen Paterson's embarrassing speech yesterday about how he would clear his name and how Kathryn Stone should resign is now worth nothing at all. A bit of heat from the public and they're not your friends anymore.

I predict Patterson will have to go. He'll be replaced by another Tory for rent in that rotten borough he's currently representing and get sent off the Lords as a thank you.

Bet all the Tory MPs who were allegedly opposed to the amendment but voted for it anyway are thrilled that they've showed themselves to be spineless only for it all the be u-turned anyway.

The 13 Tory MPs who voted No can at least hold their heads up.

Vital to understand the role of pairing in the UK system

It surely didn't have much effect here? This was a 3 line whip, government with huge majority and where most Tory backbenchers were happy to vote with the government. Pairing is just a convenience to prevent the need to attend when votes are very obviously going to cancel each other out.

@EvilPea

Is there a way to see who has paired?

I am not sure!

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches

Bet all the Tory MPs who were allegedly opposed to the amendment but voted for it anyway are thrilled that they've showed themselves to be spineless only for it all the be u-turned anyway.

The 13 Tory MPs who voted No can at least hold their heads up.

Indeed - shame there were so few.

As for Rees-Mogg - his faux surprise and dismay at the "conflation" is beyond ridiculous even though any U Turn is welcome.

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

Vital to understand the role of pairing in the UK system

It surely didn't have much effect here? This was a 3 line whip, government with huge majority and where most Tory backbenchers were happy to vote with the government. Pairing is just a convenience to prevent the need to attend when votes are very obviously going to cancel each other out.

Pairing never has an effect, that is the point of it.

But certainly there will have been pairing last night and it is important to check why an MP did not vote before attacking anyone for it.

Angela Richardson has been reappointed in her role as PPS to Gove after losing her job for abstaining yesterday

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches

Bet all the Tory MPs who were allegedly opposed to the amendment but voted for it anyway are thrilled that they've showed themselves to be spineless only for it all the be u-turned anyway.

The 13 Tory MPs who voted No can at least hold their heads up.

Internal party relations are apparently dreadful, the PM treats them all like shit.

I mean, my heart bleeds, but is more evidence of the chaos in government.

@DuncinToffee

Angela Richardson has been reappointed in her role as PPS to Gove after losing her job for abstaining yesterday

How to undermine the three line whip system

The Government have form for changing the rules to suit their own agenda. A few years ago they changed the law so that they could break the contract on pensions agreed decades ago for public sector workers (Police etc) so that they could fuck them over. It is all being contested in court and the dispute is on-going, but in a nutshell they want my DH and his colleagues to work an extra 11 years in order to get the same amount of pension he was originally going to get anyway. This is what the Tories do - change the rules to suit themselves, even if it is morally bankrupt to do so. The brass neck and entitlement of them is breath taking. Who the fuck votes for these self serving arseholes???

Is it true that Jackie Weaver the hero of Handforth Parish Council fame lives in Paterson's constituency?

If so, I hope she can be persuaded to stand as a cross party unity candidate to get Paterson out of the rotten borough, when he is (hopefully) eventually recalled.

@Hearwego

I do remember the Tory sleaze of the 90s when John Major was PM...

I also remember when people got sacked for corruption and sleaze

@FredDaviesCoracle

Is it true that Jackie Weaver the hero of Handforth Parish Council fame lives in Paterson's constituency?

If so, I hope she can be persuaded to stand as a cross party unity candidate to get Paterson out of the rotten borough, when he is (hopefully) eventually recalled.

Unlikely, I think she is in The NW and he’s in Shropshire

I also remember when people got sacked for corruption and sleaze

Let's not get too rosy-eyed about the Thatcher/Major years. Most of those resigning only did so after extreme pressure and continually protesting their innocence - some of them ended up getting their comeuppance by doing actual time inside , even though Thatcher/Major had expressed "full confidence" in them.

@Magicpaintbrush

The Government have form for changing the rules to suit their own agenda. A few years ago they changed the law so that they could break the contract on pensions agreed decades ago for public sector workers (Police etc) so that they could fuck them over. It is all being contested in court and the dispute is on-going, but in a nutshell they want my DH and his colleagues to work an extra 11 years in order to get the same amount of pension he was originally going to get anyway. This is what the Tories do - change the rules to suit themselves, even if it is morally bankrupt to do so. The brass neck and entitlement of them is breath taking. Who the fuck votes for these self serving arseholes???

Excellent post. I couldn't have expressed it better .

Unlikely, I think she is in The NW and he’s in Shropshire

Handforth is in Cheshire is it not?
Which borders North Shropshire so not impossible.

Kwasi Kwarteng at 7.30am: “I think it’s difficult to see what the future of the commissioner [Kathryn Stone] is."

No 10 at 12.30pm: "He wasn't talking about whether or not she should stay in position. He clarified himself in his interview."

Lol. Fucking idiots.

They certainly think we are.

@jgw1

Unlikely, I think she is in The NW and he’s in Shropshire

Handforth is in Cheshire is it not?
Which borders North Shropshire so not impossible.

Probably, I didn’t realise Shropshire came up so high

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

I also remember when people got sacked for corruption and sleaze

Let's not get too rosy-eyed about the Thatcher/Major years. Most of those resigning only did so after extreme pressure and continually protesting their innocence - some of them ended up getting their comeuppance by doing actual time inside , even though Thatcher/Major had expressed "full confidence" in them.

Yep, remember Jonathon Aitken, slime extraordinaire and his sentence for perjury. Tory party has a longstanding rep for harboring lying shitbags who barely manage to hide their contempt for the general public, and see themselves as our natural betters to whom pleb standards of behaviour don't apply.

How long would it take most of us to earn & save £500,000 - the sum that Paterson trousered on top of his salary? It would actually take me a lifetime of work whilst not spending a penny. It's a different world.

@johnestevens
No10 didn’t tell Owen Paterson it was performing U-turn
He was in supermarket when he found out he was no longer off the hook in call from BBC journalist,
@bbclaurak

The poor chap. Tantrum in the frozen food aisle no doubt.

[quote StrychnineInTheSandwiches]@johnestevens
No10 didn’t tell Owen Paterson it was performing U-turn
He was in supermarket when he found out he was no longer off the hook in call from BBC journalist,
@bbclaurak

The poor chap. Tantrum in the frozen food aisle no doubt.[/quote]
So its not just us plebs they treat as plebs, but their own MPs who they have appeared to bend over backwards to support.
Why do the MPs keep voting to support Boris?

Why do the MPs keep voting to support Boris?
Because the Conservatives are still in the lead in polls. It's that simple.