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Category: Parliament

  • Jeremy Quin – 2022 Statement on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    Jeremy Quin – 2022 Statement on the Personal Conduct of Suella Braverman

    The statement made by Jeremy Quin, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, in the House of Commons on 26 October 2022.

    I was disappointed, on leaving my previous Department last night, that I would no longer be seeing the right hon. Lady across the Dispatch Box, and I am so glad that she has put that right for me today. She has a good memory, and I know she will recall that last week the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office—my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith)—said, in responding to a question that she had tabled, that questions relating to

    “breaches of the ministerial code”

    or related issues

    “are a matter for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Office”.—[Official Report, 22 October 2022; Vol. 720, c. 834.]

    That is why I, not the Home Secretary, am here answering the question today.

    My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw set out the circumstances regarding the departure of the Home Secretary last week. The Home Secretary made an error of judgment. She recognised her mistake, and she took responsibility for her actions. The ministerial code allows for a range of sanctions when mistakes have been made. The Home Secretary recognised her mistake, raised the matter and stepped down. Her resignation was accepted by the then Prime Minister.

    The right hon. Lady will be aware that ministerial appointments are a matter solely for the Prime Minister, as the sovereign’s principal adviser on the appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignations of Ministers. The Prime Minister was very clear in his speech to the nation yesterday when he said:

    “This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.”

    He has said that he will work “day in, day out” to earn the trust of the country and live up to the demands and expectations that the public rightly have of their Prime Minister. The Prime Minister expects all Ministers to uphold the values and standards set by the ministerial code, as the public would rightly expect.

    As I have said, the Home Secretary made an error of judgment. She recognised her mistake, and she took accountability for her actions in stepping down. After consideration, the Prime Minister has decided, given the apology issued by the Home Secretary, to reappoint her to the Government. They are now focused, together, on working to make our streets safer and to control our borders. However, while we should learn from mistakes, we should also look to the future, and the Prime Minister has appointed a team of Ministers to lead the country through the issues that it faces.

    All Ministers are bound by the ministerial code, and the Prime Minister expects his Ministers to uphold the code and hold the highest standards. As I have noted, the code allows for a range of sanctions for breaches, and on the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the code was updated in May to make that clear. On an ongoing basis, we will need—every Minister—through our actions and in how we conduct ourselves, to demonstrate that we can continue to command this Prime Minister’s confidence as we tackle the huge challenges that are to come for the country.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on Male Bias in Cabinet

    Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on Male Bias in Cabinet

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, on 25 October 2022.

    Just one in five of the ministers around Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet table are women.

    I know the Conservatives struggle to add up, but women make up half the population.

    This isn’t a fresh start, it’s just jobs for the boys.

  • Dawn Butler – 2022 Statement on Comments Made by Kemi Badenoch about Ben Cohen

    Dawn Butler – 2022 Statement on Comments Made by Kemi Badenoch about Ben Cohen

    The statement made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, on Twitter on 27 October 2022.

    I’ve written to Kemi Badenoch regarding her inaccurate comments in the House of Commons, in which she used parliamentary privilege to spread misinformation about Benjamin Cohen and Pink News. I’m calling on her to follow ministerial code and return to the chamber to correct the record.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on the Death of May Blood, Baroness Blood

    Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Comments on the Death of May Blood, Baroness Blood

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, on 21 October 2022.

    Sad to see the passing of Baroness Blood, a political giant and tireless campaigner for women and on integration in Northern Ireland. She will be greatly missed.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2022 Comments on a Return by Boris Johnson

    Michael Fabricant – 2022 Comments on a Return by Boris Johnson

    The comments made by Michael Fabricant, the Conservative MP for Lichfield, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    To be clear: he [Boris Johnson] may not be the 1st choice of MPs (I may be wrong) but he most certainly is amongst the membership. He’s a #winner and the only MP with legitimacy having been overwhelmingly elected by the country. Without him calls for a General Election will grow.

  • Chris Bryant – 2022 Apology Over Taking Photo in Parliamentary Lobbies

    Chris Bryant – 2022 Apology Over Taking Photo in Parliamentary Lobbies

    The comments made by Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for the Rhondda, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    I have deleted the tweet I posted of a photo I took in the Commons lobby last night, at the request of the Sergeant at Arms. I accept I broke Commons etiquette in taking the photo. I did so to expose a wrong. I have apologised. I’m happy to take it down as requested.

  • Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Resigning as Prime Minister and Leader of Conservative Party

    Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Resigning as Prime Minister and Leader of Conservative Party

    The statement made by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, at Downing Street, London, on 20 October 2022.

    I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability.

    Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills.

    Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent.

    And our country had been held back for too long by low economic growth.

    I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this.

    We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance.

    And we set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy – that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.

    I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.

    I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party.

    This morning I met the Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady.

    We have agreed there will be a leadership election to be completed in the next week.

    This will ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.

    I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.

    Thank you.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Departure of the Home Secretary

    Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Departure of the Home Secretary

    The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 20 October 2022.

    I notice that the Home Secretary is not in his place this morning, unless the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith), has been appointed Home Secretary in the last few hours. To be honest, nothing would surprise us at the moment, because this is total chaos. We have a third Home Secretary in seven weeks. The Cabinet was appointed only six weeks ago, but the Home Secretary was sacked, the Chancellor was sacked and the Chief Whip was sacked and then unsacked. We then had the unedifying scenes last night of Conservative MPs fighting like rats in a sack. This is a disgrace.

    The former Home Secretary circulated a letter, and that seems to contradict what the Minister said. She said that the document was

    “a draft Written Ministerial Statement…due for publication imminently”

    that had already been briefed to MPs. Is that not true? Will he explain the answer to that? At what time did the former Home Secretary inform the Cabinet Secretary of the breach? Has a check been made of whether she sent other documents through personal emails, putting security at risk? Was there a 90-minute row about policy between the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary? Given the huge disagreements we have seen in the last few weeks between the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary on drugs policy, Rwanda, the India trade deal, seasonal agriculture, small boats—and with a bit of tofu thrown in over the lettuce for good measure—is anything about home affairs agreed on in the Cabinet?

    What we know is that the former Home Secretary has been running her ongoing leadership campaign while the current one is too busy to come to the House because he is doing his spreadsheets on the numbers for whoever he is backing to come next. But who is taking decisions on our national security? It is not the Prime Minister, nor the past or current Home Secretaries. Borders, security and policing are too important for that instability, just as people’s livelihoods are too important for the economic instability that the Conservative party has created. It is not fair on people. To quote the former Home Secretary, this is indeed a total “coalition of chaos”. Why should the country have to put up with this for a single extra day?

    Brendan Clarke-Smith

    I am sure that the right hon. Member is aware that breaches of the ministerial code are a matter for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Office, and that is why I, not the Home Secretary, am here to answer the urgent question. The Prime Minister took advice from the Cabinet Secretary, as we saw from her letter, and she is clear that it is important that the ministerial code is upheld and Cabinet responsibility is respected. The Prime Minister expects Ministers to uphold the highest standards. We have seen her act consistently in that regard.

    These were breaches of the code. The Prime Minister expects her Ministers to uphold the ministerial code, as the public also rightly expect, and she took the requisite advice from the Cabinet Secretary before taking the decision.

    I am mindful that it is not usual policy to comment in detail on such matters, but, if some background would be helpful—I appreciate that much of this is already in the public domain—the documents in question contained draft Government policy, which remained subject to Cabinet Committee agreement. Having such documents on a personal email account and sharing them outside of Government constituted clear breaches of the code—under sections 2.14 and 2.3, if that is helpful to look at. The Prime Minister is clear that the security of Government business is paramount, as is Cabinet responsibility, and Ministers must be held to the highest standards.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2022 Statement on the Fracking Vote

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2022 Statement on the Fracking Vote

    The statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 20 October 2022.

    I wish to say something about the reports of behaviour in the Division Lobbies last night. I have asked the Serjeant at Arms and other senior officials to investigate the incident and report back to me. I will then update the House.

    I remind Members that the behaviour code applies to them as well as to other members of our parliamentary community. This gives me another opportunity to talk about the kind of House that I want to see, and that I believe the vast majority of MPs also want to see. I want this to be a House in which—while we might have very strong political disagreements—we treat each other courteously and with respect, and we should show the same courtesy and respect to those who work with and for us. To that end, I will be meeting senior party representatives to seek an agreed position that behaviour such as that described last night is unacceptable in all circumstances.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2022 Comments on Boris Johnson Returning as Prime Minister

    Nadine Dorries – 2022 Comments on Boris Johnson Returning as Prime Minister

    The comments made by Nadine Dorries, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    One person was elected by the British public with a manifesto and a mandate until January 2025.

    If Liz Truss is no longer Prime Minister there can be no coronation of previously failed candidates.

    MPs must demand return of Boris Johnson – if not it has to be leadership election or a General Election.