Mikey Smith Profile picture
Sep 25, 2020 5 tweets 1 min read Read on X
For context, Christopher Chope is somewhat notorious for making very long speeches on a Friday, which push later items off the order paper.
Over the years he’s 'talked out’, or blocked by shouting ‘object’ bills that would:

• Pardon Alan Turing
• Make ‘upskirting’ a criminal offence
• Ban animals in circuses
• Exempt hospital workers from car parking fees
• Toughen laws on FGM
Sir Christopher says he objects to Private Members’ bills passing second reading ‘on the nod’ - without debate or vote - on Fridays, when there’s a hard 2.30pm cut off.

He basically objects to the concept of Fridays.
But his choice of bills to talk out have raised suspicions that it’s not his only motivating factor.

Not least because he has never, to my knowledge, lobbied to change Commons rules to prevent bills passing second reading on the nod without a debate.
Meanwhile, countless MPs have seen progressive bills, with broad - cross party - support, scuppered repeatedly by Sir Christopher and a handful of other middle aged men who repeatedly use a loophole in the rules to subvert the democratic process.

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More from @mikeysmith

Mar 25
The community notes on this are going to be a doozy. I give it a day before it gets disappeared.
Well, that was quicker than expected
In case you missed it, this official communication from the party of government included the following sentence: “In the depths of these narrow passage ways tread squads of ulez enforcers dressed in black, their faces covered with masks terrorising communities at the beck and call of their Labour mayor master."
Read 4 tweets
Apr 22, 2023
STORY

Boris Johnson returned to the Dominican Republic for the easter break - staying at the villa owned by Sam Blyth, his millionaire cousin who helped him get an £800,000 loan.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
Blyth's villa sits in the gated resort of Casa de Campo - well-loved by celebrities and the super rich.

He normally charges £4k a night to rent it out.
The Johnsons flew economy (bulkhead seats, extra legroom, natch) - but declared use of the VIP suite at Gatwick on the way out, worth £1500.

He's used the private terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick 27 times since August, at a total notional cost of more than £47,000.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 8, 2023
So there's been a series of PMQs questions complaining about 'extreme' sex education in schools.

These seem to have been kicked off a think tank founded by Tories Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger.

You will be STUNNED to learn they're not quite as advertised.

Thread:
Let's start with today's question from Miriam Cates. NCSU has published a ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR page report on the sex ed landscape in schools.

Not one of these claims is backed up by the report.

newsocialcovenant.co.uk/RSE%20BRIEFING… Image
For example, while there are (sniffy) references to 'gender fluidity' and gender positivity throughout, the number 72 only appears in page numbers and footnotes.

Nowhere does it provide evidence of children being taught there are "72 genders".
Read 8 tweets
Jan 21, 2023
🚨STORY🚨

Matt Hancock met with representatives of US tech firm Palantir at the height of the pandemic, offering to hand them the private information and Covid test results of millions of Brits.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
Emails detailing what took place in the October 8, 2020 meeting can be revealed for the first time, after an 18 month battle with DHSC.

They were only disclosed after the Information Commissioner stepped in and ordered them to do so.
The government insists it did not deliberately resist the release of the emails, claiming they only broke the statutory time limit by 17 months because they were just really busy.

Not a joke.
Read 5 tweets
Jan 20, 2023
God forbid actions should have consequences.
One day, Westminster will stop whinging about being made suffer the consequences of the expenses scandal.

But not today.
Perhaps if there was an acceptance that it was the generations of the political class caught with their fingers in the till who were to blame for the public anger, rather than whingeing about the public being angry...then people would be less angry.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 14, 2023
STORY

Two Tory MPs publicly expressed solidarity with locals plagued by enormous wifi masts popping up on their doorsteps...

...without mentioning they'd accepted donations from IX Wireless, the company behind them.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
Scott Benton's donation went unnoticed by some, because while it was on the Electoral Commission database, he hasn't declared it on the Register of Interests.

He says he doesn't have to because it was to his local association, not to him directly, and they're "separate entities"
Other MPs have declared similar donations from IX Wireless to their associations on the Register, under section 2a of the rules. For example.
Read 6 tweets

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