Yesterday in the HoC
What did you miss yesterday you ask? Let me tell you!
Tom "invites" you in
First, we had DCMS Questions.
Vaizey said some funny things
(and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. People Whittingdale laughed.)
Some people were preoccupied with other things but that didn't do anything to deter Vaizey from talking about "small and perfectly formed" things:
George Kerevan (East Lothian) (SNP): Is the Minister aware that the very latest European Commission digital economy scorecard, published in just the past few weeks, ranks the UK below not just the Nordic countries, which we would expect, but countries such as Belgium? Despite the well-known antipathy of his Secretary of State to all things European, will the Minister press the European Investment Bank to put more money into extending broadband, particularly in rural constituencies such as mine of East Lothian?
Mr Vaizey: I am surprised-[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker: Order. The question is ongoing. People must not beetle out of the Chamber while their question is ongoing. That is a very established principle. I am sure the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) is interested in views other than his own.
Mr Vaizey: It may be that BT, having heard his question, is already on the phone to my hon. Friend.
I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman’s tone of contempt for small countries, such as Belgium. I think small countries-small and perfectly formed countries-are often extremely successful. Just the other day, I was talking to an investor about the extraordinary digital businesses that exist in Edinburgh, such as Skyscanner. Those really groundbreaking businesses are developing thanks to our digital policies. I know that he will support what we are doing. I have forgotten his original point, because I was going on so much about what a fantastic, digitally innovative country Scotland is.
Mr Speaker: I hope the Minister is right and that the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) will get that phone call before very long.
Some people were preoccupied with other people.
With no Gove around, it also fell to Vaizey to flirt a little with... whomever. Tristram Hunt in this case.
Here is His Loafness
Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab): Local authority budgets are now under extreme pressure, and the Treasury is urging councils to liquidate all extraneous assets.
Mr Vaizey: One treasure that I hope will not be liquidated is the hon. Gentleman. I hope he will not be liquidated by the Momentum campaign in Stoke and that he will be reselected. We are all praying for him on this side of the House.
Meanwhile, I have found a new couple to keep my eyes on: Andrew Stephenson/Nigel Evans
Stephenson was looking at Evans like this the whole time basically
and it's not like Evans seemed uninterested himself
Our favourite couple graced us with their presence as well. Always leaning towards each other
sometimes even sitting closer, when they thought no one would notice
but most of the time they kept their distance Nuttall needs to work on his coping mechanisms
They camera didn't show us what happened when Phil put on his glasses. I had my stream on mute but am certain there was some sort of sound
Phil talked about betting stuff, Nuttall was concerned about people watching his interactions with Phil on national tv (or at least that's how I choose to interpret it):
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con): Does the Deputy Leader of the House agree that the use of the internet, particularly developments such as parliamentlive.tv, has the potential to increase hugely the engagement of the public in proceedings of this place?
Dr Coffey: The internet is a marvellous form of communication-whether we are talking about social media or parliamentlive.tv. People can also watch us on the BBC Parliament channel if they so desire, and I am sure my mother is watching right now.
Here is a random Kinnock
and a man I've never seen before
Nigel with a younger and more arrogant version of himself
Chi almost cried while Efford in the background was like "are you serious?"
Oh and Tom Pursglove gave his best Marek Larwood impression
uncanny
What else?
There was also lots of talk about evil. Sorry, EVEL:
Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP): There has barely been a more disastrous and divisive innovation than English votes for English laws. It is totally unnecessary, and the Tory majority in England and the UK is crushing any hope of a Tory revival in Scotland with this anti-Scottish tone. Is not EVEL now ripe for abolition, and should it not be confined to the dustbin of history?
Chris Grayling: The hon. Gentleman speaks with his customary reserve and understatement. I have to say that I totally disagree with him.
Several hon. Members rose-
Mr Speaker: Order. I am sorry, but we must move on.
WIshart and his twin
Then was the time of Bryant and Grayling.
Zombie talk
The previous Parliament was the zombie Parliament-for months on end the House had no proper business-and now we have the return of the living dead. They walk among us, they look like Ministers, and they are paid like Ministers, but they are doomed.
and other things
How do the Government intend to fill the business between now and then? Here are my suggestions. One: I have married a lot of people in my time-to one another, as a vicar, that is-but it has always seemed wrong to me that marriage certificates include the names of the fathers of the bride and groom but not the mothers. Even the Prime Minister says that he wants to change this, but apparently he has written to one of our Members saying there is not enough time.
Grayling:
It is a bit of a relief to me to see the shadow Leader of the House in better spirits today than he was yesterday. I do not know whether others noticed that he looked utterly miserable during Prime Minister’s questions, but I understand why. It was not just because the Leader of the Opposition spent last Saturday, just like old times, at a CND rally, or because he has appointed the former Finance Minister of the Greek Syriza Government as his new economic adviser, although heaven knows how any self-respecting Member on the Labour Front Bench could take that appointment seriously. It was not even because a former shadow Cabinet member said of the Leader of the Opposition’s appearance at the parliamentary party meeting on Monday: “Expectations were rock-bottom-and he fell below them”.
The most bizarre claim to come from the Labour leadership this week was when the Leader of the Opposition said that he gets his moral compass from “Eastenders”. Surely not even the shadow Leader of the House can think that this is a man fit to be Prime Minister.
I understand that it is hard for someone who has decided, as the shadow Leader of the House has, to become a cheerleader for a team he clearly does not support. I would be happy to grant him a debate on learning from the lessons of history, because he is the man who says he is proud to have stuck a knife in the back of Tony Blair. Only this week, however, he seems to have had second thoughts and has started to show signs of thinking again, because he told a group of students:
“‘I’m going to talk about Tony Blair, I think we’re still allowed to speak about him”.
Of course, those were the days when Labour was a serious political party.
Shockingly, they found common ground: EUROVISION!
Next week sees the 100th anniversary of Harold Wilson’s birth. He gave women, for the first time, control over their own property and their bodies; he abolished the death penalty; he decriminalised homosexuality; he introduced the first race relations Act; and he won the referendum to stay in Europe. He ended censorship and created the Open University and the Arts Council. For that matter, under him we won the Eurovision song contest-I know the Leader of the House is obsessed with this-three times: three times more than we have ever won it under the Tories. Is it not outrageous that we have a louring statue of Mrs Thatcher, who made my constituents’ lives miserable, but just a bust of Harold Wilson, who made this country a civilised society?
Chris Grayling: I very much hope that we will win the Eurovision song contest under the Conservative party next year, with that great band, MP4, leading the charge for the nation.
And now comes my favourite part: Rupa Huq bringing up Charlie Brooker!
This is Rupa. Her sister Konnie is married to Charlie ;) (although Charlie clearly carries a torch for George Osborne ...)
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab): May we have a statement on the uses of broadcast footage of the House of Commons? My constituent, Charlie Brooker, has raised with me-[Interruption.] He has, and he was one of my 270-something constituents who contributed to my majority. He has raised with me the problem that he is unable to use such footage in his programme “Screenwipe”, yet other not too dissimilar broadcasters are allowed to use it. It depends on whether the programme is satire, light entertainment or factual. Given how vague these boundaries are and the fact that these rules were dreamt up some 27 years ago, does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that now is a good juncture to revisit this matter and have a statement on it?
Chris Grayling: If it is a matter of concern to the hon. Lady, she should make a submission to the Administration Committee. However, I think it is very important to ensure that the coverage of this House’s debates is used in an appropriate way, and I am not in favour of making it available to satire programmes.
Grayling - surprise, surprise - doesn't like satire
And that was all I managed to watch.
Tom "invites" you in
First, we had DCMS Questions.
Vaizey said some funny things
(and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. People Whittingdale laughed.)
Some people were preoccupied with other things but that didn't do anything to deter Vaizey from talking about "small and perfectly formed" things:
George Kerevan (East Lothian) (SNP): Is the Minister aware that the very latest European Commission digital economy scorecard, published in just the past few weeks, ranks the UK below not just the Nordic countries, which we would expect, but countries such as Belgium? Despite the well-known antipathy of his Secretary of State to all things European, will the Minister press the European Investment Bank to put more money into extending broadband, particularly in rural constituencies such as mine of East Lothian?
Mr Vaizey: I am surprised-[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker: Order. The question is ongoing. People must not beetle out of the Chamber while their question is ongoing. That is a very established principle. I am sure the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) is interested in views other than his own.
Mr Vaizey: It may be that BT, having heard his question, is already on the phone to my hon. Friend.
I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman’s tone of contempt for small countries, such as Belgium. I think small countries-small and perfectly formed countries-are often extremely successful. Just the other day, I was talking to an investor about the extraordinary digital businesses that exist in Edinburgh, such as Skyscanner. Those really groundbreaking businesses are developing thanks to our digital policies. I know that he will support what we are doing. I have forgotten his original point, because I was going on so much about what a fantastic, digitally innovative country Scotland is.
Mr Speaker: I hope the Minister is right and that the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) will get that phone call before very long.
Some people were preoccupied with other people.
With no Gove around, it also fell to Vaizey to flirt a little with... whomever. Tristram Hunt in this case.
Here is His Loafness
Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab): Local authority budgets are now under extreme pressure, and the Treasury is urging councils to liquidate all extraneous assets.
Mr Vaizey: One treasure that I hope will not be liquidated is the hon. Gentleman. I hope he will not be liquidated by the Momentum campaign in Stoke and that he will be reselected. We are all praying for him on this side of the House.
Meanwhile, I have found a new couple to keep my eyes on: Andrew Stephenson/Nigel Evans
Stephenson was looking at Evans like this the whole time basically
and it's not like Evans seemed uninterested himself
Our favourite couple graced us with their presence as well. Always leaning towards each other
sometimes even sitting closer, when they thought no one would notice
but most of the time they kept their distance Nuttall needs to work on his coping mechanisms
They camera didn't show us what happened when Phil put on his glasses. I had my stream on mute but am certain there was some sort of sound
Phil talked about betting stuff, Nuttall was concerned about people watching his interactions with Phil on national tv (or at least that's how I choose to interpret it):
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con): Does the Deputy Leader of the House agree that the use of the internet, particularly developments such as parliamentlive.tv, has the potential to increase hugely the engagement of the public in proceedings of this place?
Dr Coffey: The internet is a marvellous form of communication-whether we are talking about social media or parliamentlive.tv. People can also watch us on the BBC Parliament channel if they so desire, and I am sure my mother is watching right now.
Here is a random Kinnock
and a man I've never seen before
Nigel with a younger and more arrogant version of himself
Chi almost cried while Efford in the background was like "are you serious?"
Oh and Tom Pursglove gave his best Marek Larwood impression
uncanny
What else?
There was also lots of talk about evil. Sorry, EVEL:
Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP): There has barely been a more disastrous and divisive innovation than English votes for English laws. It is totally unnecessary, and the Tory majority in England and the UK is crushing any hope of a Tory revival in Scotland with this anti-Scottish tone. Is not EVEL now ripe for abolition, and should it not be confined to the dustbin of history?
Chris Grayling: The hon. Gentleman speaks with his customary reserve and understatement. I have to say that I totally disagree with him.
Several hon. Members rose-
Mr Speaker: Order. I am sorry, but we must move on.
WIshart and his twin
Then was the time of Bryant and Grayling.
Zombie talk
The previous Parliament was the zombie Parliament-for months on end the House had no proper business-and now we have the return of the living dead. They walk among us, they look like Ministers, and they are paid like Ministers, but they are doomed.
and other things
How do the Government intend to fill the business between now and then? Here are my suggestions. One: I have married a lot of people in my time-to one another, as a vicar, that is-but it has always seemed wrong to me that marriage certificates include the names of the fathers of the bride and groom but not the mothers. Even the Prime Minister says that he wants to change this, but apparently he has written to one of our Members saying there is not enough time.
Grayling:
It is a bit of a relief to me to see the shadow Leader of the House in better spirits today than he was yesterday. I do not know whether others noticed that he looked utterly miserable during Prime Minister’s questions, but I understand why. It was not just because the Leader of the Opposition spent last Saturday, just like old times, at a CND rally, or because he has appointed the former Finance Minister of the Greek Syriza Government as his new economic adviser, although heaven knows how any self-respecting Member on the Labour Front Bench could take that appointment seriously. It was not even because a former shadow Cabinet member said of the Leader of the Opposition’s appearance at the parliamentary party meeting on Monday: “Expectations were rock-bottom-and he fell below them”.
The most bizarre claim to come from the Labour leadership this week was when the Leader of the Opposition said that he gets his moral compass from “Eastenders”. Surely not even the shadow Leader of the House can think that this is a man fit to be Prime Minister.
I understand that it is hard for someone who has decided, as the shadow Leader of the House has, to become a cheerleader for a team he clearly does not support. I would be happy to grant him a debate on learning from the lessons of history, because he is the man who says he is proud to have stuck a knife in the back of Tony Blair. Only this week, however, he seems to have had second thoughts and has started to show signs of thinking again, because he told a group of students:
“‘I’m going to talk about Tony Blair, I think we’re still allowed to speak about him”.
Of course, those were the days when Labour was a serious political party.
Shockingly, they found common ground: EUROVISION!
Next week sees the 100th anniversary of Harold Wilson’s birth. He gave women, for the first time, control over their own property and their bodies; he abolished the death penalty; he decriminalised homosexuality; he introduced the first race relations Act; and he won the referendum to stay in Europe. He ended censorship and created the Open University and the Arts Council. For that matter, under him we won the Eurovision song contest-I know the Leader of the House is obsessed with this-three times: three times more than we have ever won it under the Tories. Is it not outrageous that we have a louring statue of Mrs Thatcher, who made my constituents’ lives miserable, but just a bust of Harold Wilson, who made this country a civilised society?
Chris Grayling: I very much hope that we will win the Eurovision song contest under the Conservative party next year, with that great band, MP4, leading the charge for the nation.
And now comes my favourite part: Rupa Huq bringing up Charlie Brooker!
This is Rupa. Her sister Konnie is married to Charlie ;) (although Charlie clearly carries a torch for George Osborne ...)
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab): May we have a statement on the uses of broadcast footage of the House of Commons? My constituent, Charlie Brooker, has raised with me-[Interruption.] He has, and he was one of my 270-something constituents who contributed to my majority. He has raised with me the problem that he is unable to use such footage in his programme “Screenwipe”, yet other not too dissimilar broadcasters are allowed to use it. It depends on whether the programme is satire, light entertainment or factual. Given how vague these boundaries are and the fact that these rules were dreamt up some 27 years ago, does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that now is a good juncture to revisit this matter and have a statement on it?
Chris Grayling: If it is a matter of concern to the hon. Lady, she should make a submission to the Administration Committee. However, I think it is very important to ensure that the coverage of this House’s debates is used in an appropriate way, and I am not in favour of making it available to satire programmes.
Grayling - surprise, surprise - doesn't like satire
And that was all I managed to watch.