Not all Tories are bad

[wilts rover]

Well done Caroline Nokes who has announced she will not be voting for Sunaks Migration Bill tonight:

"I didn't vote for the last one, I won't be voting for this one. I might be an outlier in my party but I think we have an absolute duty to treat people humanely to keep people safe. I have absolute horror at the prospect."

I guess she will now soon be an ex-Tory MP but well done her (and the few others) who know honesty and decency when they see it.

https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1635282575542583296

[BillyStubbsTears]

Chris Skidmore too.

https://twitter.com/CSkidmoreUK/status/1635279592629075973?s=20

Good for them.

[Glyn_Wigley]

There's a lot of decent Tories out there. Unfortunately a lot of them have been driven out of the Parliamentary Party though.

[tommy toes]

I hope they vote against it then.

[Branton Red]

Chris Skidmore too.

https://twitter.com/CSkidmoreUK/status/1635279592629075973?s=20

Good for them.

"I am not prepared to break international law or the human rights conventions that the UK has had a proud history of playing a leading role in establishing.

I will not be voting for the bill tonight."

Spot on.

As an aside Chris Skidmore is the author of an excellent biography of Richard III I've just finished reading. I'd highly recommend it.

[ncRover]

We need more of this from politicians in general. It’s something I admire about Corbyn despite not agreeing with him on much.

Was it just those 2 who voted against? Disappointing if so.

[BillyStubbsTears]

They didn't vote against the Bill. They abstained.

[tommy toes]

Well I guessed they would.
If they had the courage of their convictions they'd have voted against.

[albie]

A bit of confusion in this thread.

MP's will pair with an opponent if they can't make a vote, so that the overall position is unaltered.
Emma Hardy explains it here, as she was worried about people misunderstanding her failure to cast a vote;
https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2023/03/13/emma-hardy-mp-statement-on-illegal-migrant-bill/

Why on earth you can't vote remotely in 2023 is just another glitch in our ridiculous system.

There seems to be a discrepancy in the numbers, between Tories who have admitted they did not support the Bill, and the Labour MP's who did not vote. Who knows if any of these were not paired at all?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Not sure what the confusion is Albie.

Skidmore and  Noakes:

a) Spoke out against the Bill.
b) Didn't vote against it.

That's the main point.

I'm not sure pairing has much to do with it. They said they wouldn't vote FOR the Bill, so presumably they weren't paired with any Labour opponent who couldn't be in Westminster.

Agreed about the archaic system though.

[Glyn_Wigley]

A bit of confusion in this thread.

MP's will pair with an opponent if they can't make a vote, so that the overall position is unaltered.
Emma Hardy explains it here, as she was worried about people misunderstanding her failure to cast a vote;
https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2023/03/13/emma-hardy-mp-statement-on-illegal-migrant-bill/

Why on earth you can't vote remotely in 2023 is just another glitch in our ridiculous system.

There seems to be a discrepancy in the numbers, between Tories who have admitted they did not support the Bill, and the Labour MP's who did not vote. Who knows if any of these were not paired at all?

MPs pair when they would vote opposite ways to each other. That way, they can both go and do work away from the House and cancel each other out and not affect the result of a vote.

Pairing is also quite a formal arrangement - MPs usually have the same regular pair from the other side of the House and they arrange when to act as pairs in advance. It's not done on the fly at all.

[wilts rover]

Not sure what the confusion is Albie.

Skidmore and  Noakes:

a) Spoke out against the Bill.
b) Didn't vote against it.

That's the main point.

I'm not sure pairing has much to do with it. They said they wouldn't vote FOR the Bill, so presumably they weren't paired with any Labour opponent who couldn't be in Westminster.

Agreed about the archaic system though.

They did do remote voting for a while during the pandemic but Rees Mogg soon put a stop to it when they all went back.

It's easy to see why - you can't put pressure on someone to vote the way you want if they are 200 miles away as opposed to walking past you in a corridor.