>With huge pressure on the MPs conducting the inquiry, the Tories have accepted that the inquiry needs to be undertaken by parliamentarians who are not on the government payroll, and are experienced enough not to be seeking preferment from No 10. Parliamentary rules state that ministerial aides should not be allowed to sit on committees, but this has been ignored in recent years.
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>Some of the senior Tories being mooted include former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox, former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland, who was previously a member of the committee, former culture secretary Maria Miller and Jeremy Wright, another former attorney general. From Labour, Harriet Harman, the former deputy leader, is believed to have been tapped up.
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>Sir Bernard Jenkin, a current senior member of the committee, may stay on the body. However, Laura Farris and Alberto Costa, two government aides, will be dropped.
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>However, Tory MPs in particular are proving reluctant to sit on the committee given the sensitivity and impact of their decision, which could lead to Johnson’s resignation if he is found to have knowingly misled the House of Commons.
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>There is also an issue with finding candidates to sit on the committee who have not expressed a view on the prime minister’s conduct over Partygate. Wright, for example, has publicly given his opinion that Johnson should go if he knowingly broke the law and therefore misled the Commons, as well as saying more recently that he can “see how a single mistake can be forgiven, even when it is made by a prime minister”.
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>The privileges committee will have a Conservative majority with candidates picked by the party’s authorities. However, the membership will have to be approved by the House of Commons, so the chosen MPs will need to command the confidence of a wide range of Tory backbenchers – including the prime minister’s critics.
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>One source with knowledge of the process said Tory MPs were trying to dodge the job of having to sit in judgment over the prime minister, knowing it to be a “poisoned chalice”.
Arguing if it be easier to forget about finding neutral Tories and just allow Johnson judge for himself if he broke any crime, or sub it out to their mates in Rwanda.
You can’t find 4 MPs in government who are willing to be critical of the PM then you have a fundamental problem with democracy.
So the Tories judge a Tory. That’s not really a recipe for disaster is it? The joke gets even funnier.
The Conservative party has a complicated relationship with backstabbers. And still, this is a great opportunity to get a knife in…
4 comments
>With huge pressure on the MPs conducting the inquiry, the Tories have accepted that the inquiry needs to be undertaken by parliamentarians who are not on the government payroll, and are experienced enough not to be seeking preferment from No 10. Parliamentary rules state that ministerial aides should not be allowed to sit on committees, but this has been ignored in recent years.
>
>Some of the senior Tories being mooted include former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox, former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland, who was previously a member of the committee, former culture secretary Maria Miller and Jeremy Wright, another former attorney general. From Labour, Harriet Harman, the former deputy leader, is believed to have been tapped up.
>
>Sir Bernard Jenkin, a current senior member of the committee, may stay on the body. However, Laura Farris and Alberto Costa, two government aides, will be dropped.
>
>However, Tory MPs in particular are proving reluctant to sit on the committee given the sensitivity and impact of their decision, which could lead to Johnson’s resignation if he is found to have knowingly misled the House of Commons.
>
>There is also an issue with finding candidates to sit on the committee who have not expressed a view on the prime minister’s conduct over Partygate. Wright, for example, has publicly given his opinion that Johnson should go if he knowingly broke the law and therefore misled the Commons, as well as saying more recently that he can “see how a single mistake can be forgiven, even when it is made by a prime minister”.
>
>The privileges committee will have a Conservative majority with candidates picked by the party’s authorities. However, the membership will have to be approved by the House of Commons, so the chosen MPs will need to command the confidence of a wide range of Tory backbenchers – including the prime minister’s critics.
>
>One source with knowledge of the process said Tory MPs were trying to dodge the job of having to sit in judgment over the prime minister, knowing it to be a “poisoned chalice”.
Arguing if it be easier to forget about finding neutral Tories and just allow Johnson judge for himself if he broke any crime, or sub it out to their mates in Rwanda.
You can’t find 4 MPs in government who are willing to be critical of the PM then you have a fundamental problem with democracy.
So the Tories judge a Tory. That’s not really a recipe for disaster is it? The joke gets even funnier.
The Conservative party has a complicated relationship with backstabbers. And still, this is a great opportunity to get a knife in…