Alun Cairns MP and Rob Wilson MP: Sense and nonsense on the Lobbying Bill – a response to ConservativeHome and others

Alun Cairns is the Member of Parliament for Vale of Glamorgan and Rob Wilson is the Member of Parliament for Reading East.

Today ConservativeHome reported on the opposition from the Left to the new Lobbying Bill, which also covers trade unions and election campaigning by organisations which are not political parties, such as charities and campaign groups.

The Guardian had reported on the opinion of one barrister from the radical chambers founded by Cherie Blair that the Bill will have a “chilling effect on freedom of expression” by charities and third sector organisations. The Leftist commentator Owen Jones warned that the Bill “will crush democratic freedoms”, endorsing the TUC’s verdict that the bill is something “worthy of an authoritarian dictatorship”. The online campaign group 38 Degrees has been getting its followers to write to MPs claiming that the Bill threatens a “vital part of British democracy. It would gag campaigning from much-loved charities and community groups for the entire year before a general election.”

Rob Wilson MP: How the Civil Service changed history and aided the formation of the Coalition

Rob Wilson is MP for Reading East and author of 5 Days to Power - The Journey to Coalition Britain, which is published today by Biteback.

Having written 5 Days to Power, which gives a detailed account of how Britain arrived at a Conservative-Liberal Democrat government, I am in little doubt that the civil service changed the course of British political history by creating the space and time for the negotiation of a Coalition government.  In my view it is extremely likely that without the intervention of the civil service the United Kingdom would currently be governed by a Conservative minority government. 

As someone who is a supporter of the outcome, I raise this as a constitutional question because the role, place and influence of the civil service needs to be properly assessed for the sake of future elections.

The civil service had been burning the midnight oil for months preparing, often secretly, for the prospect of a new administration and how it could best control events to ensure a smooth transition of power. The most significant aspect of the civil service’s pre-election work was the preparation and publication of a draft chapter of the proposed Cabinet Manual – a single document bringing together the existing unwritten, piecemeal conventions regulating the operation of central government.

The drive to publish the chapter entitled ‘Elections and Government Formation’, dealing specifically with post-election arrangements and the conventions governing ‘hung’ parliaments, was according to one senior civil servant, “very much [Cabinet Secretary] Gus O’Donnell’s”. O’Donnell’s view was that a written set of rules that all sides accepted was important so that, first, the Palace could be kept out of politics and, second, that all sides understood the rules and could therefore avoid disputes.

Rob Wilson MP: Open primaries increase popular participation in politics

With Totnes about to go through an all postal open primary, the only MP elected to the House of Commons that went through an Open Primary selection system, Rob Wilson MP, is in a good position to judge its merits.

The nature of our politics has never been more commented on.  Politicians have been portrayed as mired in scandal. Some have been exposed. The public wants change. But whilst my profession has been drowning recently in negative publicity, the public is more interested and emotionally involved in politics now than at anytime in a generation. This presents us all with an opportunity to increase participation in politics – we should all grab this opportunity with both hands.

Although the public’s anger has centred on the expenses revelations, their anger goes much deeper and further than taxpayer funded moats and porn films.  The public is angry at the political establishment for its closed shop mentality – a politicised elite that excludes the public because it says it “doesn’t understand”.  Many people feel that they can’t hold us to account for the decisions that we make and believe that we often make decisions based on personal gain rather than civic duty.  The words ‘gravy train’, ‘snouts in the trough’, ‘backhander’, crop up on far too many doorsteps.

However, there are a number of simple ways we can open up politics and give people a greater say in who their representatives are – one way is to establish open primaries as the preferred method for candidate selection.  Currently, around 70% of constituencies in the UK are the domain of one political party. Consequently, the majority of the public are unable to vote in a truly competitive election – once a candidate is selected to stand for the dominant party in that particular constituency, the candidate is practically assured a ‘job for life’. It’s no surprise then, with Members safe in the knowledge that they can do whatever they like without facing electoral consequences that we face the situation we’re in.  It also means that MPs can neglect their Parliamentary duties, without facing the wrath of their electors. This is only too evident when you look at the amount of time Labou’s ex Cabinet Ministers spend in the Commons. For example, from April 2008 -9, John Prescott and Ian McCartney voted less than half of the time, just beating David Blunkett on 50%. And Prescott, Alan Milburn and Byers (before April 2nd) failed to speak once in the House. It’s clear that Parliament is not performing as an institution to the standards expected by the public.

Rob Wilson MP: Labour’s "idle" ex-Ministers are letting Parliament down

Rob Wilson has been MP for Reading East since 2005.

Stephen Byers’ intervention during the Budget debate was a timely reminder that ex-Cabinet Ministers can carry real weight in the Commons. Byers said that the 50% tax rate “is damaging to the Labour Party in government” and “breaks a key manifesto pledge which the party will regret for many years to come."  Hear Hear.

Unfortunately for Byers' constituents though, that was the first time he has contributed to a debate in the House of Commons for over a year. Low attendance and participation in Parliament by Labour MPs was first raised by the Government’s Chief Whip Nick Brown. He claimed that about 20 or so backbench Labour MPs were “idle” . So a little investigation conducted before Easter found that Labour’s ex-Cabinet Ministers are amongst the most idle Labour MPs in the Commons.

Byers is only one example of ex-Labour high-fliers not pulling their weight as MPs in Parliament. The highlights (or should that be lowlights) include John Prescott and Ian McCartney voting less than half of the time, just beating David Blunkett on 50%, as the lowest voting ex-Cabinet Ministers. And it also uncovers Prescott, Alan Milburn and Byers (before April 2nd) failing to speak once in the previous 12 months in the Commons.  The table below (based on information from www.theyworkforyou.com which was up-to-date on April 2nd 2009 and relevant for the last 12 months) shows how little participation there is by ex-Ministers, whether speaking, taking part in Committee work or simply asking questions.

So why is it that they think it’s acceptable to withdraw from their duties? A possible explanation is that they are so disillusioned with the Brown Government that they have given up the ghost. Many of Labour’s former Cabinet Ministers are defined as ‘Blairites’, and have spoken, sometimes candidly, of their disapproval of Gordon Brown. Charles Clarke is renowned for his outbursts against the PM, most recently saying that Brown’s strategy in dealing the bloated expenses system had left Brown "very" damaged and himself  “ashamed to be a Labour MP”.

Alan Milburn, one of Blair’s allies, regularly briefed against by Brown’s henchmen during his time as Health Secretary, was more than willing to get his revenge during Smeargate. The Darlington MP was one of the first Labour politicians to speak out on the scandal, saying to reporters: “For years it has been members of the Labour party who have been on the receiving end of vicious briefing campaigns…” This episode, he continued saying, has “inflicted huge damage on the Labour Party.”  But the biggest signal of Brown’s dwindling authority over former Blairite Ministers came when David Blunkett told the Prime Minister he should scrap ID cards, the same David Blunkett who first mooted the idea in 2001.

Whilst it’s understandable that former Cabinet colleagues of the Prime Minister are disillusioned with the state Labour is in, they still have an important duty to represent and stand up for their constituents in the Commons. Of course, low participation in the Commons doesn’t prevent ex-Ministers from claiming expenses or enjoying the perks of a high media profile. But it does prevent them from properly representing their hard-working constituents at the time of the greatest economic crisis for a generation.

I just hope they don’t take any advice from John Prescott. When asked why he doesn’t speak in the House his spokesman replied: “John decided that when he stood down from the Cabinet he would never speak out against the Government. That's why he doesn't speak in the House. He is sticking to his pledge to stay loyal". I’m not sure how loyal his impression of the Prime Minister’s YouTube gurn (smile) was in front of dozens of cameras. It appears loyalty and a work ethic are attributes the Parliamentary Labour Party is finding in very short supply. 

Rob Wilson MP: We need to stand with Pakistan in her hour of need

Rob Wilson has been MP for Reading East since 2005 and is chairman of Conservative Friends of Pakistan.

The regularity of terrorist attacks in Pakistan has meant that individual incidents are rarely headline news. It's not the methods used by the terrorists, or the number of deaths and injuries caused during the attack that made this week's attack so shocking, but the fact that terrorists targeted the Sri Lankan cricket team and what it represents.

Tuesday's events reveal that the terrorist's flawed logic has been expanded from attacking western values and supporters of the Pakistani establishment, to symbols that represent the way of life in Pakistan.

Cricket is part of the glue that binds society together; by attacking cricketers they attack the hopes and aspirations of millions of Pakistanis who invest their energy, time and love in pursuit of their passion. Cricket also represents one of the final strands of a significant relationship that Pakistan has with the outside world. Understandably that strand will now be weakened because it is unlikely that any team will tour there in the foreseeable future and only a sizeable miracle will prevent the 2011 World Cup from moving to another host.

Rob Wilson MP: The Lord of Darkness Returns

Rob Wilson is MP for Reading East and Shadow Minister for Higher Education.

Four years ago, when he was Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw accidentally shook hands with Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President. Straw said at the time, “Because it was quite dark in that corner I was being pushed towards shaking hands with somebody just as a matter of courtesy and then it transpired it was President Mugabe".

It seemed a pretty lame excuse at the time. But this weekend’s reports of the return of the living dead to Government (in particular Peter Mandelson and unofficially Alistair Campbell), made me think of something that happened to me in the early summer. I was playing for the Parliamentary Football team at Stamford Bridge against a host of ‘celebrities’ in aid of charity. Alistair Campbell was playing on the other team and I thought to myself near the end of the game, “I am going to need a strong stomach to shake hands with him.”  I decided I would avoid it.

Yet at the end of the game, I was tired, I had my head down and when I looked up there was Campbell with his hand outstretched. Much like Straw, not wishing to be rude, I took his hand but afterwards felt sick about doing so. Now I am NOT making the case that the deeds of Mugabe and Campbell are directly comparable or drawing any parallel with Zimbabwe.  However, for most people in this country the return of Mandelson and Campbell to the frontline is deeply disturbing – even sickening - for British politics. It seems somehow morally wrong.

Robert Wilson MP: You're no John Major, Mr Brown

Rob Wilson is MP for Reading East and Shadow Minister for Higher Education.

Political correspondents, media commentators, blogs and MPs at Westminster have been awash in recent days with comparisons between Gordon Brown and John Major. I have been surprised at how quickly this has become the accepted wisdom, certainly within the 'Westminster village'. Of course, it has superficial attractions as Labour MPs were merciless in repeating their charge of dithering at John Major and who can forget Norman Lamont 's phrase about his Government giving the impression of being "in office but not in power"?  These proved devastating and the charges of drift and dither are now hurting Gordon Brown. But is the comparison as real as it superficially appears?

John Major arrived in Downing Street having served his time as a Minister and having held, albeit briefly, two of the great offices of state, namely Chancellor and Foreign Secretary. Gordon Brown had no Ministerial experience in 1997 and was parachuted straight into the job of Chancellor. During his ten year spell at the Treasury, Brown, as recent autobiographies make clear, spent his time at war with Tony Blair, using his position at the Treasury to undermine his leader and to seek the top job for himself; as John Redwood said recently, "scratching at the plaster of the walls of No 11"! Brown did not have the experience that a variety of Government posts brings, spending his days bunkered down in the Treasury and issuing his edicts to civil servants and Ministers alike.

Rob Wilson MP: Jacqui Smith has form when it comes to dissembling

Rob Wilson is MP for Reading East.

Last week Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, came to the House of Commons to explain why she had kept quiet about 5,000 illegal immigrants being cleared to work in the security business, some of them serving in very sensitive areas.  She put the case that she had been “open and honest” and hadn’t tried to hide what had happened, even though she knew about it way back in August.

Along with a freelance journalist, Sunjay Kakar, I took a stroll back through Ms Smith’s recent political past and found that she has “form” when it comes to dissembling.  In November 2004, Ms Smith made a statement to the House of Commons that she had decided to appoint, Christine Channon, as a Director of the South West Development Agency.  She confirmed that “decisions on the appointments have been made following open competition in accordance with the guidelines set down in the Commissioner for Public Appointments code of practice, and that the Appointments Code had been followed..”

It turned out that this was far from the truth.   Subsequently the appointment of Christine Channon was shown to have been made at the expense of a much better qualified candidate, Malcolm Hanney.  When pressed by Mr Hanney through an employment tribunal, the High Court of Justice Queens Bench Division compelled the Government to accept it was in contravention of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and it had to repay nearly £18,000 in costs to Mr Hannay. As she was the Minister for Equality and Women, wouldn’t Jacqui Smith have known that she was breaking the law by choosing an inferior candidate?  She had assured the House the appointments were legitimate and that she had taken the proper advice.  It is clear that she quite glibly gave a misleading impression to the House of Commons and may have contravened the Ministerial code of conduct.

Rob Wilson MP: Was Thatcher used in an unscrupulous way by Brown?

Rob Wilson, MP for Reading East, questions Brown's alleged manipulation of Baroness Thatcher.

As a Conservative it is always a delight to see one of our greatest Prime Ministers stepping through the door of Number 10.  Margaret Thatcher is rightly revered by those that know their politics and history will undoubtedly be very kind to her and her legacy.  She was a formidable Prime Minister who changed Britain for the better at a time when defeatism and managed decline had become the language of the political class. 

Yet when I spoke to her about this last year, I was surprised that she felt unsure about both her place in history and whether there was real affection for her in the nation.  I was saddened that she seemed to lack confidence and was obviously forgetful and frail.