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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Jul 30, 2023 22:21:28 GMT
I thought it was John Watson (Skipton and Ripon) who was more famous for having become an inactive MP. He stopped submitting written PQs at the end of 1985 and made only one speech in 1986 (supporting the Channel Tunnel but referencing the fact he was running a business in Kent).
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Post by finsobruce on Jul 30, 2023 22:23:17 GMT
In reading the newspaper articles about it , I found that he was, in his first year in the Commons, the MP who took part in most divisions. And the local press were full of his statements on this and that over the following years.
It seems to have been a sudden decline , which is perhaps why it was so noticeable.
There were precisely 500 divisions in the 1979-80 session. The MPs who were recorded voting in over 430 of them were: 476 Michael Jopling (C, Westmorland) 469 John Cope (C, South Gloucestershire) 466 John Stradling Thomas (C, Monmouth) 464 David Waddington (C, Clitheroe) 463 John Wakeham (C, Maldon) 462 Robert Boscawen (C, Wells) –– Hon. Peter Morrison (C, City of Chester) 460 Tristan Garel-Jones (C, Watford) 458 Tim Brinton (C, Gravesend) 453 John Wheeler (C, Paddington) 452 Hon. Anthony Berry (C, Enfield Southgate) 450 Peter Lloyd (C, Fareham) 449 Spencer Le Marchant (C, High Peak) 448 Bob Dunn (C, Dartford) 447 Hon. Peter Brooke (C, City of London and Westminster South) 446 Antony Newton (C, Braintree) 444 Iain Mills (C, Meriden) 442 Sir Graham Page (C, Crosby) 441 Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (C, Edinburgh West) –– Keith Wickenden (C, Dorking) 438 John Blackburn (C, Dudley West) –– Graham Bright (C, Luton East) –– Bob Cryer (Lab, Keighley) 436 Kenneth Carlisle (C, Lincoln) –– John MacGregor (C, South Norfolk) 434 Peggy Fenner (C, Rochester and Chatham) –– Anthony Speller (C, North Devon) 432 Donald Thompson (C, Sowerby) 431 Christopher Murphy (C, Welwyn and Hatfield) Ha. That's probably what he told the local press then.
Still, not too shabby for someone who late on tried to avoid the place at all costs.
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Post by finsobruce on Jul 30, 2023 22:28:17 GMT
I'm thinking Christopher Murphy ? (Welwyn Hatfield 79-87) EDIT: Yes, i'm pretty sure it was him. By the mid 1980s the local papers were routinely describing him as 'elusive' and 'vanished'.
What sort of “disappeared” did he do? I don’t think I remember anything about him. That is the question John. That is the question.
There is no info that I can find, indicating whether he had gone abroad, just got bored, had businesses that took up all of his time or something more exciting/dubious. In some of his statements to the local papers he hinted darkly that lawyers had been in touch with people who were offering reasons for his absences. *
* He apparently wasn't doing constituency surgeries or meeting constituents at the Commons for instance.
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Post by finsobruce on Jul 30, 2023 22:34:32 GMT
I thought it was John Watson (Skipton and Ripon) who was more famous for having become an inactive MP. He stopped submitting written PQs at the end of 1985 and made only one speech in 1986 (supporting the Channel Tunnel but referencing the fact he was running a business in Kent). I'm quite prepared to believe there were two of them at it. Or rather, not at it.
In June 1986 Watson told journalists that he was quitting the Commons due to the loutish behaviour of his fellow MPs: "They spend most of their time shouting at each other".
Chris Moncrieff told the story that Watson got a bleeper alert at three in the morning, and rushed to get dressed and go to the Commons before realising that since the 1987 election he was no longer actually an MP. He calls him "That well known man about Westminter", but i've no idea what he's indicating by this description.
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Post by eastmidlandsright on Jul 30, 2023 23:43:23 GMT
Like most former senior members of government he makes a small number of speeches and/or intervention on important matters. Also three speeches from Cox are worth 30 speeches from most MPs. He's still a barely there MP who has interests beyond his constituency. Either represent and contribute, or resign. Any MP who does not have interests beyond their constituency is utterly pathetic. As for Sir Geoffrey, he is representing and contributing. If his constituents are unhappy with how he is doing that they can vote him out at the next election.
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john07
Labour & Co-operative
Posts: 15,637
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Post by john07 on Jul 30, 2023 23:53:52 GMT
My favourite inactive MP was Frank McGuire who was elected for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from October 1974 until his death in 1981. That lead to Bobby Sands winning the by-election.
Frank was a local publican who rarely attended Westminster having been chosen as a unity candidate between SF and SDLP.
He did attend now and again and would either vote with Labour or abstain. One time Andrew Bennett MP spoke to him and asked the reason for his presence. He said that he was going to ‘abstain in person’! Ultimately one abstention cause the Callaghan government to lose the vote of no confidence.
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Post by doktorb🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ on Jul 31, 2023 0:30:03 GMT
He's still a barely there MP who has interests beyond his constituency. Either represent and contribute, or resign. Any MP who does not have interests beyond their constituency is utterly pathetic. As for Sir Geoffrey, he is representing and contributing. If his constituents are unhappy with how he is doing that they can vote him out at the next election. I'm baffled by your defense.
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Post by tonyhill on Jul 31, 2023 5:58:01 GMT
There was also Francis Noel-Baker who, if my memory is correct, was known in his latter years as MP for Swindon as 'the member for Athens Central' because he spent most of his time in Greece. I spent six weeks in Swindon campaigning for Chris Layton at the 1969 by-election after Noel-Baker finally resigned.
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Post by andrewteale on Jul 31, 2023 5:58:46 GMT
Like most former senior members of government he makes a small number of speeches and/or intervention on important matters. Also three speeches from Cox are worth 30 speeches from most MPs. He's still a barely there MP who has interests beyond his constituency. Either represent and contribute, or resign. I moan in the Previews sometimes that we hold our local councillors to higher standards than we do our MPs, but by your own evidence Cox clearly passes the attendance test used in local government. We don't require our councillors to represent and contribute, we just require them to turn up once every six months.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2023 6:06:37 GMT
Might Liz give Nadine a peerage?
As an aside, how many sitting MPs are getting peerages from Liz?
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Post by finsobruce on Jul 31, 2023 6:26:17 GMT
There was also Francis Noel-Baker who, if my memory is correct, was known in his latter years as MP for Swindon as 'the member for Athens Central' because he spent most of his time in Greece. I spent six weeks in Swindon campaigning for Chris Layton at the 1969 by-election after Noel-Baker finally resigned. Good call Tony.
In March 1969 The Daily Mirror reported that he had finally resigned calling him "The Missing MP", and noted that his absences "some of them spent on his family's estates in Greece, have been widely criticised by his constituents and fellow MPs"
It also noted that he had said he would resign over year previously and gave as one of his main reasons "the steadily declining influence of backbenchers". well, especially if they are never in the country I guess.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2023 6:27:01 GMT
Nadine gives me Louise Mensch vibes.
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iang
Lib Dem
Posts: 1,770
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Post by iang on Jul 31, 2023 9:37:07 GMT
Frank Maguire famously attended the 1979 vote of confidence to abstain in person. There's a probably apocryphal story that on one of his rare visits to London he had to get the tube somewhere. Unsure of how to get a ticket, he followed a woman who walked up to the ticket office and said "Maida Vale, single". He then put his cash down on the desk with the words "Frank Maguire, married". I doubt if it's true, but...
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Post by batman on Jul 31, 2023 10:05:34 GMT
In reading the newspaper articles about it , I found that he was, in his first year in the Commons, the MP who took part in most divisions. And the local press were full of his statements on this and that over the following years.
It seems to have been a sudden decline , which is perhaps why it was so noticeable.
There were precisely 500 divisions in the 1979-80 session. The MPs who were recorded voting in over 430 of them were: 476 Michael Jopling (C, Westmorland) 469 John Cope (C, South Gloucestershire) 466 John Stradling Thomas (C, Monmouth) 464 David Waddington (C, Clitheroe) 463 John Wakeham (C, Maldon) 462 Robert Boscawen (C, Wells) –– Hon. Peter Morrison (C, City of Chester) 460 Tristan Garel-Jones (C, Watford) 458 Tim Brinton (C, Gravesend) 453 John Wheeler (C, Paddington) 452 Hon. Anthony Berry (C, Enfield Southgate) 450 Peter Lloyd (C, Fareham) 449 Spencer Le Marchant (C, High Peak) 448 Bob Dunn (C, Dartford) 447 Hon. Peter Brooke (C, City of London and Westminster South) 446 Antony Newton (C, Braintree) 444 Iain Mills (C, Meriden) 442 Sir Graham Page (C, Crosby) 441 Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (C, Edinburgh West) –– Keith Wickenden (C, Dorking) 438 John Blackburn (C, Dudley West) –– Graham Bright (C, Luton East) –– Bob Cryer (Lab, Keighley) 436 Kenneth Carlisle (C, Lincoln) –– John MacGregor (C, South Norfolk) 434 Peggy Fenner (C, Rochester and Chatham) –– Anthony Speller (C, North Devon) 432 Donald Thompson (C, Sowerby) 431 Christopher Murphy (C, Welwyn and Hatfield) surprised not to see Dennis Skinner in there, he was famous for very strong parliamentary attendance
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Post by batman on Jul 31, 2023 10:08:36 GMT
There was also Francis Noel-Baker who, if my memory is correct, was known in his latter years as MP for Swindon as 'the member for Athens Central' because he spent most of his time in Greece. I spent six weeks in Swindon campaigning for Chris Layton at the 1969 by-election after Noel-Baker finally resigned. I later campaigned against Chris Layton, when he was the SDP candidate for my Euro-constituency in 1984. The winner was Mike Elliott (Lab) who I think is still with us.
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Post by batman on Jul 31, 2023 10:13:37 GMT
There was also Francis Noel-Baker who, if my memory is correct, was known in his latter years as MP for Swindon as 'the member for Athens Central' because he spent most of his time in Greece. I spent six weeks in Swindon campaigning for Chris Layton at the 1969 by-election after Noel-Baker finally resigned. he was first elected to parliament at the same election as his father Philip, for Brentford & Isleworth in 1945. Philip remained in parliament for a few months after Francis resigned before retiring and taking a peerage. Layton famously stood in the Chippenham by-election in 1962, and subsequently in the following two general elections, coming close to winning but just failing to do so. Giles Radice was the Labour candidate in both 1964 & 1966, he worked for Francis Noel-Baker before being elected to parliament himself in a by-election in 1972.
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Post by batman on Jul 31, 2023 10:15:33 GMT
My favourite inactive MP was Frank McGuire who was elected for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from October 1974 until his death in 1981. That lead to Bobby Sands winning the by-election. Frank was a local publican who rarely attended Westminster having been chosen as a unity candidate between SF and SDLP. He did attend now and again and would either vote with Labour or abstain. One time Andrew Bennett MP spoke to him and asked the reason for his presence. He said that he was going to ‘abstain in person’! Ultimately one abstention cause the Callaghan government to lose the vote of no confidence. A Labour whip rang Maguire up in his bar asking him to attend an important vote. He wasn't there, and his wife took the call. She promised to pass the message on, but said she didn't want him going to London "what with all those bombs going off"
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Post by Ron Swanson on Jul 31, 2023 10:31:27 GMT
Interesting that some on the Leave side railed against unelected EU bureaucrats... yet Dorries seems desperate to become one.
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 38,469
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Post by The Bishop on Jul 31, 2023 11:07:03 GMT
If the Tories face by-elections in Tamworth and possibly Romford too, a triple whammy may hurt Sunak the most. Funnily enough, I think we'd get a win for each of the big three again in that scenario, with Romford staying blue. To avoid that, Sunak might well decide to hold the GE on May 2nd 2024. Labour did narrowly win Romford in 1997 - and under pre- 1974 boundaries it was Labour-held for many years.
If these seats fall vacant in the autumn, people are hardly likely to just twiddle their thumbs because Sunak MIGHT call an election for the following May. As said before, this isn't like not having byelections in 1997 and 2010 when we were approaching the parliament's legal maximum. Of course the PM could try to get round this by announcing a May 2024 GE well in advance, but this would be pretty much unprecedented and has possible pitfalls of its own.
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Post by batman on Jul 31, 2023 11:18:03 GMT
Nadine gives me Louise Mensch vibes. I tend to think that Louise Mensch is reasonably intelligent but bonkers. Whereas Nadine Dorries is both unintelligent & bonkers. They are of course both novelists too. Their constituencies are not quite neighbouring, but not far off.
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