Robust possibilities
"Sturdily independent" was the verdict of one ex-whip as he cast and eye over the composition of the new Commons Backbench Business Committee. And he didn't mean it in a good way. The Chair, Labour's Natascha Engel was elected last week, and the remaining Labour members are being voted on as I write.
But the Conservatives and Lib Dems were elected unopposed, and they're a pretty robust bunch. Heavy metal backbenchers Peter Bone, Philip Hollobone and Philip Davies, plus newly elected Battersea MP Jane Ellison make up the Conservative contingent. The sole Lib Dem will be John Hemming, also a relatively maverick figure within his own party. And Labour members are voting to decide which two of three contenders will take the Labour seats on the Committee - the three are David Anderson, Katy Clark and Alison Seabeck.
Whichever way you slice it, the new line-up does not exactly reek of consensus and establishment complacency. So maybe they'll shake things up a bit - if they can manage to agree on what to do.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
Comments
or to comment.