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15 May 2024

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By the smallest of margins – Monday

The Commons defeated a government-led motion and voted to ban MPs from the parliamentary estate if they have been arrested on suspicion of violent or sexual offences.

Richard Foord voted on the side of the angels but no vote was recorded for Simon Jupp.  

LAST NIGHT [MONDAY] IN THE COMMONS www.politico.eu

ALL PART OF THE PLAN: After facing days of attacks from her new Labour colleagues, Natalie Elphicke may just have found a route to redemption. Elphicke’s vote (arguably) made all the difference on Monday night as the Commons defeated a government-led motion and voted to ban MPs from the parliamentary estate if they have been arrested on suspicion of violent or sexual offences. The free vote could not have been closer, finishing 170-169. Labour and Lib Dem MPs cheered it to the rafters.

What happened? The House of Commons Commission had — twice — recommended a panel should be set up to consider banning MPs from parliament if they had been arrested for a violent or sexual offence. Opposition MPs were deeply unhappy when the government instead proposed a much higher bar — the point an MP is actually charged with such an offence. But it was still assumed in SW1 that the motion, led by Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, would sail through the Commons with the government’s tacit support, even though it was a free vote in parliament and there was no whipping operation in force.

Not so fast: But more than 150 Tory MPs took advantage of the non-whipped vote to simply not show up. And an amendment by Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain and Labour MP Jess Phillips to bring in a ban from the point of arrest attracted the support of the vast majority of Labour, Lib Dem and SNP MPs, along with a group of eight Conservatives — including Theresa May. 

Sliding doors: You can make a strong argument that Elphicke’s vote won the day, given the knife-edge margin of victory. Even Conservative aides admitted on Monday night that Elphicke would have been very unlikely to vote for a Lib Dem-Labour tie-up on parliamentary standards a week ago, back when she was still a right-wing Tory. All this, of course, comes days after Elphicke faced allegations (which she denies) of trying to get the ex-attorney general to intervene in her ex-husband’s court case for sexual assault.

The big picture: Much more importantly, of course, the result is a big win for parliamentary campaigners who have long decried the lack of safeguards against accused sex offenders. In an impassioned speech during the debate, Phillips said that just prior to the vote she had met with two women who had been raped by MPs. “That’s a fairly standard day for me,” she said.

Successful collab: Chamberlain said the vote was “an important step towards making parliament a safe and modern place to work.” She added: “It is not about the guilt or innocence of any individual MP, but about safeguarding.” Phillips posted her shock on X after the vote, writing: “Shit! We won the vote by 1.”

Full list of MPs who voted:

Risked-based exclusion: amendment (o): Recent Votes www.theyworkforyou.com

Aye 169 No 168

Aye: A-Z by last name

Tellers

No: A-Z by last name

Tellers