Kerron Cross is an all round good guy. He's so nice in fact that he's just compiled his list of his Top Ten Nicest MPs and has emailed to ask if I fancy doing the same. Well for lack of anything better to do on a very tedious Christmas Eve in the wilds of Essex (more of which later), here goes. Naturally I am more predisposed to doing my Top Ten Nastiest MPs, but that will have to wait for another day... Anyway, these ten are in no particular order...Dominic Grieve (Con)
Shadow Attorney General, a more honest and fastidious MP you could not hope to come across. He was an absolute pleasure to work with when I was working for David Davis.
Nick Clegg (LibDem)
Maybe disproving the theory that nice guys never make it to the top. Great sense of humour
Martin Horwood (LibDem)
First met him when he worked for the Alzheimers Society - quiet, a bit studious and gives me the impression of can't quite believing his luck that he has made it to the green benches. Not a bad attitdue to have.
Andrew MacKinlay (Lab)
A genuine Parliamentarian. I have known him for 15 years and have a huge respect for him.
James Brokenshire (Con)
Newly elected MP for Hornchurch, a real family man who is liked by all that come into contact with him. Deservedly promoted in front bench reshuffle.
Angus MacNeil (SNP)
Wicked sense of humour and fun to be with. His work on Cash for Peerages has upped his profile but he remains loyal to his crofting roots.
Greg Clark (Con)
My local MP in Tunbridge Wells, until his Toynbee remarks didn't have an enemy in the world! Genuinely caring and deserves to reach the top.
David Lidington (Con)
Seems to smile permanently and has an infectious laugh. Has done a great job as Northern Ireland spokesman.
Angela Smith (Lab)
I knew her a bit when I ran Politico's and she was first elected for Basildon in 1997. Great sense of humour and fun to be with.
Hilary Benn (Lab)
If Labour had any sense, he'd be their next leader rather than the Dour One. The perfect antidote to New Labour spin, he's a genuinely nice guy.
Naturally I'm sure you will want to leave your own nominations in the Comments...
UPDATE: And for those of you devoid of the Christmas spirit, vote in the Wonko's World T**t of the Year poll HERE.
28 comments:
If it's any consolation to Hilary Benn, he was in my Top Ten list but then I dropped him out to make room for Alan Keen.
I'm sure he won't mind. :-)
Norman Lamb not on your list then ? I thought you and he got on now.
Have a great Christmas Iain. I hope you read my top seven things ? I was nice about you even though you didn't tag me.
Andrew MacKinlay (Lab) his bullying approach to Dr David Kelly and the ensuing events leave a black mark against this MP
You could have done better than this. How about the top ten Nudist MPs or the top ten smelliest MPs?
I would like to know which ones smell funny.
How many MPs wear the same shirt two days runnning?
Who is straight but would be gay for pay?
You ought to know all these things, and be unscrupulous enough to tell.
"Hilary Benn (Lab)... he's a genuinely nice guy."
Good that irony is still in use. Presumably you mean lying, smarmy, control-freak, etc.
D Grieve
K Hoey
F Field
Bob Neill MP
My ten would be (in no order):
1. Roger Gale (Con)
2. Hillary Benn (Lab)
3. Andrew Lansley (Con)
4. Sir Malcolm Riftkind (Con)
5. Neil Gerrard (Lab)
6. Maria Miller (Con)
7. Mark Harper (Con)
8. Claire Curtis-Thomas (Lab)
9. Simon Hughes (LD)
10. David Ruffley (Con)
Andrew Mackinlay pretends to be a Labour rebel but is very loyal voting to backBlair. Check his voting record - he only rebels on pointless minor issues.
During the 2005 General Election he leafletd the village of East Tilbury and Linford claiming the tories were fabricating the fact that a developer planned to build 14,000 new homes.
Surprise surprise 3 weeks after the General Election the developer announced plans for 14,000 homes!
Mackinlay also claims to be living 'amongst' the people by keeping a 'postal' address in Tilbury - but lives in a nice home in Chessington, Surrey.
lembit opik surely deserves a whole new category in his honour - mps that amuse us awards?!
You seem to have omitted Gorgeous George. An oversight, surely.
You appear to have left out the court jester Mr. Prescott!
Have a good Christmas.
Yeah, Mark Harper definitely needs to be in there somewhere- never heard anyone with a bad word to say about him (though doubtless now I'll be proved wrong... :D )
Good list. Definately agree on Hilary Benn, he's a genuinely nice bloke. And if it included ex-MPs, would also have gone for my old boss, Lord Cotter. Have a great Christmas!
Norfolk Blogger, I get on with dozens of MPs - I also didn't put some of my best friends on the list! Yes, I saw your list. Very kind of you.
Voyager, I don't agree with you on the Kelly stuff.
Well said Voyager. McKinlay's bullying attitude to poor Dr Kelly was a disgrace.
I am VERY surprised at you I.Dale.
OK list I think. Hillary Benn would indeed be a very good candidate for our Party Leader and PM for the next ten years to boot. But don't tell Mr Cameron! he might lose his appealling optimism about his still-rabble making it into government anytime soon.
Here I go ... still blogging at 1:12 am on Christmas morning! Been staying up to greet hero bell ringer after midnight service "that was fun" was the deadpan review for same as partner arrives and I sign off. Mince pie and a little fine port wine beckon.
Tend to agree about the MacKinley-Kelly comment Iain - much as I opposed all TWOT activity.
Happy Christmas!
Tough one this. Even the ones you like are bound to have had to cut a few people up to even become a candidate, let alone an MP. But here's my list, in no particular order:
Frank Field
Dominic Grieve
Hilary Benn
Frank Dobson
Jeremy Corbyn
Simon Burns
Don Foster
Oliver Letwin
Adam Price
Malcolm Rifkind
Main criterion - not losing their rag when someone vexes them. There's a longer list of MPs who do that all too often.
I'll have two top tens if that's ok.
Ten Nicest Tories (as they are the most nice, of course)
1 Nigel Evans
2 Michael Gove
3 Philip Davies
4 Nick Herbert
5 Julian Lewis
6 Brooks Newmark
7 Mark Harper
8 Adam Holloway
9 David Mundell
10 Brian Binley
Ten Nicest Others
1 Angus MacNeil (SNP)
2 Kevin Brennan (Lab)
3 Jeremy Browne (LD)
4 Lindsay Hoyle (Lab)
5 Susan Kramer (LD)
6 Andrew Mackinlay (Lab)
7 David Wright (Lab)
8 John Leech (LD)
9 Tim Farron (LD)
10 John Grogan (Lab)
Agree entirely re. Hilary Benn, and he'd make a much more credible Foreign Secretary than the horse-faced ex(?)-Bennite from Derby. She's not at all nice, as her attack on Kinnock (over his abstension in the 1981 deputy leadership contest) and her disloyalty to Smith demonstrated. One of the most untrustworthy MPs in any party, totally self-serving, utterly ridiculous in her oscillations on the Labour Party's left-right spectrum.
But back to nice MPs - Alan Simpson comes across as humourless on TV, but is really genial and amusing off-camera. I completely disagree with 99% of his views, but a really nice guy, very down-to-earth.
Mark Fisher - like some jolly Friar.
Rob Flello
John Heppell
David Blunkett - you wouldn't guess it from his awful memoirs, but he can be all charm (as he was when he gave a talk at the Country Bookshop in Derbyshire).
If you could extend the list to ex-MPs, I'd include Stephen Twigg, and Sir David Knox.
You dont get anywhere being nice!, we DEMAND incompetent, lying, grinning, anti-English communist scottish megalomaniacs!
Daniel Kazywazykinky (Shresbury & Atcham) is the nicest one I've met so far. And the biggest - 6'7"!
Twat of the Year voting is very close if anyone's interested - only a couple of votes seperating the top 4:
Prescott (59)
Bliar (57)
Brown (56)
Cameron (52)
Peter Luff. Personable, friendly, extremely (on occassion overly)enthusiastic and goes out of his way to help young people get into politics. I defy anyone to say anything nasty about him.
Plus his name translates into Fred Elliott rhyming slang.
Dominic Grieve is a superb person.
Dominic was also the only Shadow Minister to visit Lincoln during the General Election Campaign and I can assure everyone that his support was magnificently appretiated.
What about the blonde bombshell from Mid Beds, Nadine Dorries MP? They don't get much nicer than her. She's even said nice things about Iain D on her latest blog!
(in the style of Lady Bracknell)
MacKinlay ?
Mackinlay? Perhaps his inclusion is to make up for Mr Dale's earlier (unfounded) comment that he was due to retire as an MP at the next election?
I always thought that Oliver Letwin was regarded as one of the nicest MP's in Parliament by people from all political parties?
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