Saturday, July 11, 2015
Will Cameron dare to cut?
The Liberal Democrats famously blocked Tory plans to equalise UK Parliamentary constituencies in retaliation for them blocking the reform of the House of Lords, but now that Cameron has a majority he can go-ahead and do it anyway. The question is, will he?
According to the Independent, delivering this reduction in the number of MPs is going to be no easier now than it was with a coalition government. They say that the move to reduce the number of parliamentary seats from 650 to 600 risks a rebellion among Tory MPs who believe the House of Commons should remain at its current size.
They add that as many as 19 seats won by the Conservatives could vanish as a result of the move, along with around 20 held by Labour and four of the Liberal Democrats’ remaining eight constituencies:
One backbencher said new MPs were “quite jittery” over the plans and suggested party chiefs could be forced to back off.
“It does seem as though the party is still talking through the idea of having 600, not 650, MPs. I think their view is that with 600 we will be net beneficiaries even though we will lose seats. Personally, I think it will be very difficult to get through.
“All the other parties will be against it and it only needs a small rebellion of six Tory MPs to cause a problem in a vote.”
Another MP said: “Meetings with Conservative Campaign Headquarters are beginning to happen. But the phrase ‘I’m from CCHQ, I’m here to help’ has never been one of the most reassuring phrases.”
It seems that even in Cameron's brave new World turkeys do not vote for Christmas.
According to the Independent, delivering this reduction in the number of MPs is going to be no easier now than it was with a coalition government. They say that the move to reduce the number of parliamentary seats from 650 to 600 risks a rebellion among Tory MPs who believe the House of Commons should remain at its current size.
They add that as many as 19 seats won by the Conservatives could vanish as a result of the move, along with around 20 held by Labour and four of the Liberal Democrats’ remaining eight constituencies:
One backbencher said new MPs were “quite jittery” over the plans and suggested party chiefs could be forced to back off.
“It does seem as though the party is still talking through the idea of having 600, not 650, MPs. I think their view is that with 600 we will be net beneficiaries even though we will lose seats. Personally, I think it will be very difficult to get through.
“All the other parties will be against it and it only needs a small rebellion of six Tory MPs to cause a problem in a vote.”
Another MP said: “Meetings with Conservative Campaign Headquarters are beginning to happen. But the phrase ‘I’m from CCHQ, I’m here to help’ has never been one of the most reassuring phrases.”
It seems that even in Cameron's brave new World turkeys do not vote for Christmas.
