Justice minister Nick Dakin has just been repeatedly scolded by the Speaker as he bungles an apology for Mahmood having announced a raft of prison sentencing changes in No 9’s press briefing room as opposed to in the Commons. Dakin has been hauled into the Commons after a Tory urgent question was granted on the matter…
The Speaker kicked off by attacking the government for announcing policies outside Parliament. Dakin said he was “pleased to be here today to follow up” Mahmood’s statement. Hoyle wasn’t having any of it…
“You wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t have granted the urgent question – that’s the thing we should remember. You wouldn’t be here at all, it’s only because I’ve decided you should be here so please let’s not try and take advantage of a situation of your own making.”
Dakin said Jenrick was right to “lay an urgent question and that’s how parliament works and and rightly so.” Hoyle again intervened and said: “Let’s get this very very clear this is not about having to grant an urgent question this is about the government doing the right thing rather than somebody else having to drag the ministers here that’s not how we
should be working.” Hoyle angry…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”