Despite what you may see of the gladiatorial contest for half an hour every week at Prime Minister’s questions, overwhelmingly the smooth and orderly functioning of Parliament and our legislative process works on goodwill, co-operation and understanding.
The vacancy on the Justice select committee was a Labour vacancy. It was a matter for the Labour Party to fill it. Whether I approved or disapproved of their choice, the choice was theirs to make.
The ill-considered attempt by rogue colleagues to interfere with Labour’s choice and overturn it, could have had disastrous consequences for all the other areas where ‘give and take’ are necessary to ensure the Parliament can function without always descending into an unseemly row.
Had Labour voted to veto a Conservative choice for a select committee, I would have been incandescent with rage. Accordingly, I voted to uphold Labour’s right to make its choice, whomsoever they had chosen.