Blog Profile / Mark D'Arcy
| URL : | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/correspondents/markdarcy/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Politics / UK Politics | |
| Posts on Regator: | 257 | |
| Posts / Week: | 2.6 | |
| Archived Since: | July 6, 2011 | |
Blog Post Archive
Stratagems and spoils
So far in 2013, the Coalition has had its first complete split over the parliamentary boundaries review (29 January), seen 116 Conservative MPs vote for a motion regretting the lack of an EU referendum in the Queen's Speech and thenShow More Summary
Week ahead
It's been a scattato couple of months for Parliament, what with the Easter break, prorogation and, next week, Whitsun. And honourable members and noble lords are off on another break next week, returning on 3 June. But they do manage...Show More Summary
Eyes down
The sloshing sound I could hear in the background, as I rang James Wharton MP to break the news that he'd just topped the ballot for private members bills for the coming year, must have been his cup running over. He managed to conceal...Show More Summary
An important surprise
Mr Speaker Bercow has sprung quite an important surprise on the Commons. He's allowed not two, but three amendments to the motion on the Queen's Speech to be voted on today. A slightly bemused Leader of the Commons, Andrew Lansley, politely...Show More Summary
Will the EU amendment be called?
With 78 signatures and counting, will the John Baron amendment to the Queen's Speech (alright, I know, amendment to the motion for a Loyal Address) be called by Mr Speaker? The decision won't be made until the Wednesday morning meeting,...Show More Summary
Week ahead
The appearance of a rebel amendment on the Queen's Speech, regretting the lack of a referendum on Britain's EU membership, has transformed the debate from ritual combat to something much more threatening for the government. Most of the...Show More Summary
Week ahead in committees
In the brief interlude between the Queen's Speech and the Whitsun recess, the select committees are cramming in a fair amount of activity on an impressive array of subjects. My two picks of the week are the Human Rights Committee session...Show More Summary
What will the next Parliament look like?
How threatened by the rise of UKIP should sitting MPs feel? Nobody is quite sure, yet, whether Nigel Farage's party will be able to capitalise on the substantial slice of local power it won last week, but a share of power in a few County...Show More Summary
Added spice
As predicted, an amendment to the motion of thanks for the Queen's Speech has gone down, regretting the lack of a bill to allow an EU referendum… The signatories so far are: John Baron, Peter Bone, Philip Hollobone, Philip Davies, Douglas Carswell, Edward Leigh, John Redwood, Bernard Jenkin and David Davis (Con). Show More Summary
Week ahead
Parliament this week is a bit of a one-trick pony. Business will be almost entirely devoted to the ceremonial and policy substance of the Queen's Speech. On Wednesday, Westminster re-opens for business with the usual blaze of Victorian pageantry - the Sovereign's procession, the ceremonial progress to the House of Lords. Show More Summary
Referendum games
As Darth Vader might say, I feel a great disturbance in The Force. One way or another, a lot of Conservative MPs are determined to get a bill for an in-out EU referendum before the Commons in the coming parliamentary year - and there are several ways in which they could make it happen. The most obvious is to amend tomorrow's Queen's Speech. Show More Summary
Muzzled?
Has the government just tightened, ever so slightly, its grip on the windpipe of Parliament? The appointment of several MPs to the Conservatives' new Parliamentary Advisory Board is interesting for all sorts of reasons: the personnel...Show More Summary
That most mysterious of Westminster rituals
To an outsider the annual end of term bout of parliamentary ping-pong is one of the most mystifying Westminster rituals. It's a high-stakes legislative game, often carried out at the dead of night, with MPs and peers succumbing to their...Show More Summary
Week ahead
This could be the final week of the parliamentary year - if the Lords and Commons can agree on the final form of several bills, in the usual year-end frenzy of parliamentary ping-pong. Several key issues still have to be sorted out,Show More Summary
Week ahead in committees
The end of the parliamentary year may be looming, but the select committees are still hard at work, with a galaxy of promising looking evidence sessions scheduled for this week. Everything from specific scandals to controversies around current legislation to big-picture policy is under the microscope. Show More Summary
Week ahead
The shape of the Commons week will be a little different, with the House expected to postpone its normal sitting-time on Wednesday to allow for the funeral of Lady Thatcher, and to cancel Prime Minister's Questions that day, becauseShow More Summary
Farewell, David Miliband
So. Farewell. Then. David Miliband. The former great white hope of the Blairites and ex-foreign secretary is leaving Parliament to run a major international charity. People tend to get a bit snarky about politicians upping sticks between...Show More Summary
Week ahead
There's quite a lot of action packed into a half-week before MPs and peers depart for their Easter break.... with the Budget and some interesting backbench debates in the Commons, and some tight-looking votes ahead on several Government...Show More Summary
Week ahead in committees
Even though the Commons is only sitting for two days next week, MPs still manage to cram in some fairly significant committee business....and as Easter looms, watch out for some important reports. Here's my rundown... Monday The Public...Show More Summary
Shining a light on a dark art
I've now seen two superb dramas, this year, which have centred on the fine art of parliamentary whipping. The first was Lincoln, where the plot centred on the President's attempts to persuade the US Congress to abolish slavery. The second,...Show More Summary