Guido can reveal a sixth Tory MP is putting their hat in the ring to chair the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, following the vacancy created by Tom Tugendhat’s promotion. Richard Graham, the MP for Gloucester, is joining Liam Fox, IDS, Alicia Kearns, Henry Smith and John Baron in the race – albeit at a significantly later starting date than his five competitors.
Richard Graham is campaigning on four points, the third of which is certain to raise eyebrows among Tory MPs:
A source close to one of the candidates revealed lots of SNP MPs are set to back Alicia Kearns, and no doubt many Labour MPs will also be putting her as first preference, meaning it’s likely she will be in the final two with either IDS or Liam Fox. Nominations close tomorrow and the vote’s on Wednesday…
Taking to Twitter, Henry Smith MP rants:
“Not that I should be surprised by the lazy left but interesting how work-shy socialist and nationalist MPs tried to keep the remote Parliament going beyond 2 June.”
It’s not just Sajid Javid who will be breaking Number 10’s ‘no sloping off to Davos’ rule this year. Multiple MPs will be jetting off to those glistening Swiss slopes for the annual ‘Parliamentary Ski Week’, three weeks after the World Economic Forum summit in the same alpine town. With great powder, comes great responsibility…
Tory MP Henry Smith has advertised the trip by email to Parliamentary skiers, who, if they attend the February jaunt, will receive free of charge:
In addition, Ski passes for kids will be 50% off. The subsidised and free goodies amount to thousands of pounds for each MP. Will taxpayers après-ciate forking out for their holiday?…
“Do you think they betrayed those people?” @Jo_Coburn
“Yes” @HenrySmithUK #bbcdp #Brexit pic.twitter.com/f9NE9xtFjE
— BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) 14 December 2017
Tory MP Henry Smith reflecting the feelings of the vast majority of his colleagues…