‘Principle, integrity and standards matter. Without those, what’s left?’
It has been claimed that Julian Smith, the chief whip of the Conservative Party, urged three Tory MPs to ignore ‘pairing’ arrangements in the Commons on Tuesday.
‘Pairing’ is an arrangement between two MPs of opposing parties that allows them to miss occasional votes in the House. So if two members from opposite sides both agree to miss a vote, they essentially cancel out each other’s absence. It is particularly useful for MPs who cannot attend certain votes due to reasons such as maternity leave.
Brandon Lewis, the Conservative Chair, did break a pairing deal with the Liberal Democrat’s Jo Swinson – who is on maternity leave – but claimed it was a mistake. However, Sam Coates of the Times reports that the chief whip informed Lewis that a crunch vote was ‘going to be close’ and that ‘he needed him to vote.’
According to Coates’ report, there are two other Tory MPs who were told by Smith that they should vote on Tuesday despite being paired. Both are said to have ignored the instruction. The Tory whips’ office have so far refused to comment on the story, but Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, has called for resignations if the Times story is true.
Tory chief whip told three MPs to defy "pairing" deals on crucial Brexit votes according to today's Times. If true, this is despicable behaviour which makes politics even more inaccessible for women.
If true, Julian Smith must resign, or be sacked.https://t.co/ysKYWZNadQ
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) July 19, 2018
Conservative MP Heidi Allen has also voiced her concern about the story, commenting: ‘No matter how tough the going gets, principle, integrity and standards matter. Without those, what’s left?’
I sincerely hope this isn’t true. No matter how tough the going gets, principle, integrity and standards matter. Without those, what’s left? https://t.co/26NHeNjmmg
— Heidi Allen (@heidiallen75) July 19, 2018
Despite Lewis apologising for reneging on the pairing deal, Swinson slammed the ‘breaking of trust’, calling it ‘calculated’ and ‘desperate stuff’:
Just how low will your govt stoop @theresa_may? When @andrealeadsom delayed proxy voting motions, she *assured* those of us who were pregnant that we would be paired when necessary. Today your govt broke that agreement – @BrandonLewis paired with me but voted. Desperate stuff. pic.twitter.com/CcgF7z8MOV
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) July 17, 2018
54,000 women lose their jobs each year in the UK due to pregnancy & maternity discrimination. Despite claims to want to fight "burning injustices", govt response to this problem has been shockingly poor, so perhaps it should be no surprise they treat MPs on mat leave like this.
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) July 17, 2018
