Reply to: Sir Nick Clegg

[chopper]

They haven’t had over 100 MP’s for decades, at the 2010 election, when they entered into a coalition, they had 57 MP’s.

Strikingly, they went down from 62 MPs (GE2005) to 57 MPs (GE2010), and then successfully returned us to a two party state by GE2015.

[vetran]

More, or less, beneficial than this individual that has been knighted for services to politics?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Chope

Chope was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Peter Brooke, the Minister of State at the Treasury in 1986, before being promoted by Margaret Thatcher to serve in her government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment later in the same year, where he was responsible for steering through the "Community Charge" (popularly known as the Poll tax) legislation. He was moved under the leadership of John Major to serve in the same rank at the Department of Transport from 1990 until he lost his Southampton Itchen seat to John Denham at the 1992 general election.

After his defeat, Chope took up a consultancy with Ernst & Young in 1992, but was re-elected at the 1997 general election for the Christchurch constituency. In 1997, he became a spokesman on the Environment, Transport and the Regions as well as being the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party under William Hague, but left the frontbench later that year when he became a member of the Trade and Industry Select Committee. He returned to the frontbench after the 2001 election as a spokesman on the Treasury. In 2002, he moved to Transport, then left frontbench politics after the 2005 general election. He currently serves on the Panel of Chairs.

Chope was chairman of the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group and used to be a barrister in the Chambers of Peter Rawlinson.

On 10 February 2009, he called for the minimum wage to be abolished. His Employment Opportunities Bill, which would, according to Chope, introduce more freedom to the job market and decrease unemployment, was backed by ten other Conservative MPs at the first reading, among them Edward Leigh, David Wilshire, Nigel Evans, Bill Cash and Peter Bone.

Later that year, in the expenses scandal, it emerged that Chope claimed £136,992 in parliamentary expenses in 2007/08. This included claiming £881 to repair a sofa.[3]

On 12 March 2010, he was responsible for the blocking of a bill to protect poor countries from "vulture funds", despite his party's support for the bill.[4]

In October 2010, Chope helped host a meeting of climate-science sceptics at Westminster.[5]

On 11 October 2011 Chope raised an eleventh hour objection to the Hillsborough debate taking place because he believed a debate about MP's pensions was more important. Cries of 'shame' echoed around the chamber and Labour MP Jamie Reed said that the perpetrator should be 'named and shamed' for raising the objection.[6]

Chope helped to lead the backbench support for the motion calling for a European Referendum. He has also been heavily involved in the use of Private Members Bills to achieve this aim.[7]

Chope came under fire in January 2013 for referring to some staff in the House of Commons as "servants". Parallels were drawn between this opinion and his views on the minimum wage.[8]

Chope voted against the legislation for same-sex marriage in 2013.[9]

hmm hardly a poster boy for tolerance. AtW might like him.

[SueEllen]

I reckon he's been the politician most beneficial to the UK since Maggie Thatcher, or even Winston Churchill. But I can see a certain class of voter in a certain recent referendum might think differently.

You are welcome to ask for a referendum and win it, but don't call other sitting politicians traitors if they then don't do what you like as unlike you they have to run a country.

[meridian]

I reckon he's been the politician most beneficial to the UK since Maggie Thatcher, or even Winston Churchill. But I can see a certain class of voter in a certain recent referendum might think differently.

More, or less, beneficial than this individual that has been knighted for services to politics?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Chope

[OwlHoot]

It's enough for me to know how much ant-establishment Nigel Farrage burns when he gets 'snubbed yet again' for a knighthood.

I reckon he's been the politician most beneficial to the UK since Maggie Thatcher, or even Winston Churchill. But I can see a certain class of voter in a certain recent referendum might think differently.

[cojak]

It's enough for me to know how much ant-establishment Nigel Farrage burns when he gets 'snubbed yet again' for a knighthood.

[Waldorf]

For services to the Tories.

Took a party of over 100 MPs to near oblivion.

Nick Clegg to get a knighthood in New Year's honours | Daily Mail Online

They haven’t had over 100 MP’s for decades, at the 2010 election, when they entered into a coalition, they had 57 MP’s.

[PurpleGorilla]

Maybe not, but we do understand the concept of selling out your core principles to retain a position of power: reneging on his manifesto student loan promise, and f***ing up the work of the boundary commission to level the electoral playing field in a fit of pique are not the actions of an honourable man.

His party got elected of the back of a content free barnstorming performance in a pseudo debate between the party leaders. None of his promises survived his appointment to the coalition, where he did more harm than good, by some measure.

And anyone bad enough to get voted out and then replaced by St Vince of Cable (another delusional and damaging presence in the coalition government) is worthy of nothing but contempt.

The coalition redline was PR.

They sold out on a tulip AV+ ballot.

[malvolio]

Great politician, well deserved.
You Brits still don't get the concept of coalition government, which means giving a bit and taking a bit as well as more democracy.

Maybe not, but we do understand the concept of selling out your core principles to retain a position of power: reneging on his manifesto student loan promise, and f***ing up the work of the boundary commission to level the electoral playing field in a fit of pique are not the actions of an honourable man.

His party got elected of the back of a content free barnstorming performance in a pseudo debate between the party leaders. None of his promises survived his appointment to the coalition, where he did more harm than good, by some measure.

And anyone bad enough to get voted out and then replaced by St Vince of Cable (another delusional and damaging presence in the coalition government) is worthy of nothing but contempt.

[PurpleGorilla]

Great politician, well deserved.
You Brits still don't get the concept of coalition government, which means giving a bit and taking a bit as well as more democracy.

Liberals give the Tories what they want then the Tories take the rest?

[PurpleGorilla]

An honest politician but I don't like his stand on referendum.
Well deserved I would say even then.

[woohoo]

Great politician, well deserved.
You Brits still don't get the concept of coalition government, which means giving a bit and taking a bit as well as more democracy.

I know, jeesh us daft brits. I do wonder how we managed to stumble on, ruling the world, fighting and winning two world wars and then somehow recovering and becoming one of the largest economies in the world. How we managed to setup a parliament and reduce the powers of the monarchy, I just don't know. And then we gone a got ourselves a legal system, which we managed to implement around the world.

Then for fun we just went ahead and managed to stumble into creating most of the worlds sports. How we managed to sort out the world wide web and invent television I just do not know.

Well lucky for us we can look to the EU and really see how to govern. Would not want to stumble on any more great achievements without help.

[Eirikur]

Great politician, well deserved.
You Brits still don't get the concept of coalition government, which means giving a bit and taking a bit as well as more democracy.

[woohoo]

I’m not entirely sure what he has done to achieve a knighthood. Just a journeyman loser.

[fatboyslim]

An honest politician but I don't like his stand on referendum.
Well deserved I would say even then.