Of all the plum jobs in the Commons, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee (FASC) is the sweetest. It gives the incumbent a strong media platform, endless global jollies, and the chance to quiz David Lammy, which should be nothing if not entertaining…
When Emily Thornberry was brutally but hilariously binned from the incoming Labour Government, she launched a hardcore lobbying campaign to become FASC chairman. Lady Nugee ‘put the thumbscrews on’, said one Labour MP, pressuring her parliamentary colleagues to back her and help her recover from the embarrassment of not getting a front bench role. There’s a little local difficulty however, which is being talked about on the Labour benches…
Thornberry is best friends with scandal-wrecked Lord Alli. She lived on the same street as him in the 1990s, and is credited with actually introducing Alli to the party in the first place: ‘Lord Alli was encouraged to join Labour by his next-door neighbour, Emily Thornberry‘. As Guido revealed, Alli has some exotic foreign policy preferences, joining figures such as Jeremy Corbyn as one of the very few British parliamentarians to go into bat for – checks notes – Bashar al Assad. As he boasted himself in a Lords debate: “I have visited Syria on a number of occasions and held talks with President Assad on several.”
And which Shadow Foreign Secretary caused outrage in 2018 when they praised Assad’s “depth and breadth of support” which is greater “than is recognised in the west”? Only Lady Nugee herself. An eyebrow raising coincidence making Labour MPs nervous about her chairmanship…
Kearns wins with 241 votes in the final round. Here’s the full breakdown…
First round:
Kearns – 199
Fox – 135
Duncan Smith – 78
Graham – 46 (eliminated)
Second round:
Kearns – 217 (+18)
Fox – 150 (+15)
Duncan Smith – 85 (+7) (eliminated)
Third round:
Kearns – 241 (+24)
Fox – 200 (+50)
A major coup for a 2019-er…
The race for the Foreign Affairs Committee Chairmanship ends this afternoon, and by the looks of things a good number of MPs will be glad when it’s over. A parliamentary co-conspirator sent Guido this picture, taken outside the offices of the SNP’s Dr Philippa Whitford and Joanna Cherry. They’ve finally had enough, and stuck up a notice gently asking colleagues to stop bothering them so much:
“We have received a sufficient number of leaflets regarding the forthcoming election of the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Thank you.”
Apparently Liam Fox sent three flyers in one day, while Iain Duncan Smith personally posted flyers to every office in PCH this morning. This might end up being a waste of paper anyway: the word in parliament is Alicia Kearns may be about to pull off a surprise victory…
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:
- This role is about seeking truths through evidence to influence Parliament and policy. Not grandstanding or ideological campaigning.
- We should make the most of our development funding and other soft power examples like the Commonwealth, Chevening scholarships and the British Council
- We should explore what the mooted European Partnership offers and ways to resolve the NI conundrum
- Being sanctioned by Russia and having a visa denied by China (as I have both) are reasons to deepen, not cut off, engagement
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…
While most politicking has been put on pause for the moment, it seems life goes on for some career-hungry MPs. The elevation of Tom Tugendhat to Security Minister means a prize vacancy as chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee is up for grabs; immediately Tory grandees Liam Fox and IDS announced they’d be putting themselves forward. Guido understands their campaigns have been paused in light of the Queen’s death…
The underdog in the race is Alicia Kearns, a 2019 vintage Tory MP, who’s shown a keen interest in foreign affairs since entering parliament three years ago, as well as serving on the committee for the past two years. Unlike IDS and Fox, however, Alicia can’t afford to campaign on name recognition alone. Today in PCH according to a co-conspirator she was holding court lobbying passing MPs, Guido’s co-conspirator spotted Damian Hinds and Daniel Kawczynski getting their ears bent, despite the campaign halt while we mourn Her Majesty. No rest for the wicked…
After turning down Liz Truss’s offer to join the Cabinet as Leader of the House of Commons, Iain Duncan Smith has announced a new career ambition. Following the appointment of Tom Tugendhat to the Cabinet as Security Minister, IDS is planning to run for the now-vacant chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Speaking on LBC this morning the former Tory leader confirmed overnight reports by Steerpike and Politico that he’ll be going for the job:
“I am actually seriously thinking about standing for that, so there you have a first.”
IDS also claims he turned down the offer of Leader of the House because he felt it was not something to which he “could add any particular value”, leaving the job open for Penny Mordaunt instead.
Politico reports that Liam Fox will also be running, with the backing of DEFRA Committee Chair Robert Goodwill and former Trade Minister Mark Garnier. The additional chairman’s salary of £16,422 is not to be sniffed at during these trying economic times…
