The allocation of Select Committee chairmanships has brought yet ore disappointment for Sir Ming Campbell. he had set his heart on being chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee after his dreams of being Speaker were dashed. But it is not to be. The LibDems will only have two Select Committee Chairmen, International Development and Justice.
Labour will have BIS, DCLG, Home Affairs, Science & Technology, Scottish Affairs, transport, Work & Pensions, Environmental Audit and the Public Accounts Committee. All the rest go to the Conservatives. (Education, Defence, Energy & Climate Change, DEFRA, Foreign Affairs, Health, Northern Ireland, Treasury, Welsh Affairs, Procedure, Public Administration).
This time, all MPs will elect the committee chairmen. The Foreign Affairs Committee chairmanship may well be hotly fought over with Sir John Stanley and Sir Malcolm Rifkind the front runners. It is thought that Patrick Mercer may challenge James Arbuthnot for the Defence Committee chairmanship.
Any other rumours of runners and riders, feel free to let me know.
I'm not sure that allowing all MPs to choose the select committee chairs is a good idea - would Labour MPs have elected Edward Leigh to the PAC for example. Isn't it in the Tories interest to elect the most useless Labour MPs to select committee chairs?
ReplyDeleteJames Arbuthnot has been an excellent Chairman of the Defence Select Committee. I do hope he retains it.
ReplyDeleteIain I was surprised to see Ming remaining in the commons yesterday instead of going into the Lords to witness the Queens speech.
ReplyDeleteCan we draw form this that he is upset? that he disagrees with the coalition? or has he stayed in the commons before?
To me he looks an angry man
Labour will have the PAC? Good Grief! Have they not done enough lying cheating and general smoothing over of the state of the accounts already? Any chance of real insight and scrutiny?
ReplyDeleteLet the old dodderer put his feet up.
ReplyDeleteHis own party saw fit to throw him out - why should he be fit for a committee chairmanship?
If 'James Arbuthnot has been an excellent Chairman of the Defence Select Committee' why did we have to rely on Ann Winterton in the chamber to campaign for better mine protected vehicles?
PAC ?? I confess to having no idea, but it occurs to me this may be traditionally given to the opposition. Would be logical anyway to have the opposition in charge of that. But I am happy to stand corrected.
I don't get this -- if they're electing committee chairmen, what's ruled Ming out?
ReplyDeleteDid the tories get any?
ReplyDeleteDoh. Cancel my last comment.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee is always a member of the Opposition.
ReplyDeleteGood.
ReplyDeleteHaving fouled his future with his astonishing and disgraceful performance on the expenses QT he really ought to put up and shut up.
The man's a busted flush.
Wasn't much of a flush to start with.