This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/23/tories-will-not-repeat-vote-pairing-errors-says-mays-deputy
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tories will not repeat vote pairing 'errors', says May's deputy | Tories will not repeat vote pairing 'errors', says May's deputy |
| (5 months later) | |
| Theresa May’s deputy, David Lidington, has said the Conservatives will not repeat the mistakes that led the party’s chairman to break a voting agreement he had with a Liberal Democrat MP on maternity leave. | Theresa May’s deputy, David Lidington, has said the Conservatives will not repeat the mistakes that led the party’s chairman to break a voting agreement he had with a Liberal Democrat MP on maternity leave. |
| The Cabinet Office minister was responding to an urgent question over the pairing incident, which caused a bitter row with opposition parties after the Tory chief whip, Julian Smith, told MPs to breach Commons voting conventions in knife-edge Brexit votes on Tuesday. | The Cabinet Office minister was responding to an urgent question over the pairing incident, which caused a bitter row with opposition parties after the Tory chief whip, Julian Smith, told MPs to breach Commons voting conventions in knife-edge Brexit votes on Tuesday. |
| The Tory party chairman, Brandon Lewis, went through the voting lobbies when he was assigned as a pair to Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson, who had recently given birth. | The Tory party chairman, Brandon Lewis, went through the voting lobbies when he was assigned as a pair to Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson, who had recently given birth. |
| The Jo Swinson pairing scandal matters – our democracy relies on trust and integrity | Helen Lewis | |
| Pairing is a Commons convention that allows MPs to cancel each other out when they must be away from the Commons for urgent business, birth or sick leave. Other MPs refused to break their pairs during the crucial votes. | Pairing is a Commons convention that allows MPs to cancel each other out when they must be away from the Commons for urgent business, birth or sick leave. Other MPs refused to break their pairs during the crucial votes. |
| Government sources have since conceded that it was a mistake to ask Lewis to break his maternity pair, but admitted asking others who were on short-term arrangements to do so. Smith was under intense pressure to see off a Tory rebel amendment on the trade bill last Tuesday, which the government defeated by just six votes. | Government sources have since conceded that it was a mistake to ask Lewis to break his maternity pair, but admitted asking others who were on short-term arrangements to do so. Smith was under intense pressure to see off a Tory rebel amendment on the trade bill last Tuesday, which the government defeated by just six votes. |
| Lidington said there were no long-term changes to pairing policy. “I can assure the house again that the errors of last week will not be repeated,” he said. | Lidington said there were no long-term changes to pairing policy. “I can assure the house again that the errors of last week will not be repeated,” he said. |
| He repeatedly refused to confirm whether other MPs had been asked to break pairs intentionally. “He should not have been asked to vote, an error was made ... every other pair that evening was honoured,” Lidington said. “There was not a deep-laid plot to deny the pairing arrangement. Neither the prime minister, nor the leader of the house were consulted.” | He repeatedly refused to confirm whether other MPs had been asked to break pairs intentionally. “He should not have been asked to vote, an error was made ... every other pair that evening was honoured,” Lidington said. “There was not a deep-laid plot to deny the pairing arrangement. Neither the prime minister, nor the leader of the house were consulted.” |
| He said pairing was an informal and voluntary arrangement but said ministers “do take the issue of pregnancy pairing particularly seriously”. | He said pairing was an informal and voluntary arrangement but said ministers “do take the issue of pregnancy pairing particularly seriously”. |
| In the Commons, MPs demanded to know why Smith had not come to explain himself, including the Lib Dem chief whip, Alistair Carmichael, who asked the urgent question. “I am disappointed that it is him and not the chief whip at the dispatch box this afternoon,” Carmichael said. | In the Commons, MPs demanded to know why Smith had not come to explain himself, including the Lib Dem chief whip, Alistair Carmichael, who asked the urgent question. “I am disappointed that it is him and not the chief whip at the dispatch box this afternoon,” Carmichael said. |
| “There are serious questions still outstanding about the events of last Tuesday evening and the only person who knows the truth of them is the chief whip himself. There is today a serious lack of confidence in the system by which we run our business. The only person who can restore that confidence is the chief whip.” | “There are serious questions still outstanding about the events of last Tuesday evening and the only person who knows the truth of them is the chief whip himself. There is today a serious lack of confidence in the system by which we run our business. The only person who can restore that confidence is the chief whip.” |
| Carmichael said he had initially been “relaxed” that the pair had been broken, saying he believed it had been an honest mistake by Lewis. “My view started to change, however, when I learned that it may have been a mistake to cancel the pair but it was not an inadvertence. It was a deliberate act.” | Carmichael said he had initially been “relaxed” that the pair had been broken, saying he believed it had been an honest mistake by Lewis. “My view started to change, however, when I learned that it may have been a mistake to cancel the pair but it was not an inadvertence. It was a deliberate act.” |
| He said it was “a prima facie act of bad faith” and said there should be no distinction drawn between a pregnancy pair and pairing for any other reason. | He said it was “a prima facie act of bad faith” and said there should be no distinction drawn between a pregnancy pair and pairing for any other reason. |
| “A pair is a pair, whatever its purpose, and if the system is to work then it should be honoured and not broken at the 11th hour,” he said. “If pairs can be broken in this way then how can any party operate a system of baby leave?” | “A pair is a pair, whatever its purpose, and if the system is to work then it should be honoured and not broken at the 11th hour,” he said. “If pairs can be broken in this way then how can any party operate a system of baby leave?” |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| House of Commons | House of Commons |
| Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |