My local Tory MP is in hot water!

[T_i_B]

Last edited Tue Dec 19, 2023, 01:20 AM - Edit history (1)

Not sure what she's done to warrant being under investigation by Parliamentary Standards.

Although Miriam Cates hasn't been a good constituency MP at all since she got elected back in 2019. At present she seems much too focused on internal Tory wrangling than engaging with people in the North of Sheffield and the West of Barnsley.

https://news.sky.com/story/tory-mp-miriam-cates-under-investigation-by-parliaments-standards-watchdog-13033359

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Torygraph suggests it might be lockdown-party-related

However, Ms Cates is the fourth MP to be investigated by the Standards Commissioner after being linked to a drinks party that took place during lockdown.

She is reported to have been present at a birthday gathering for Baroness Jenkin, a Tory peer, and Virginia Crosby, a backbencher, in December 2020. She has not commented on the reports that she attended the event.

The Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, the husband of Baroness Jenkin, is also said to have been there, along with Dame Eleanor Laing, the Deputy Speaker.

Ms Cates, Sir Bernard, Ms Crosby and Dame Eleanor are all being investigated by the Standards Commissioner under the same clause of the code of conduct.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/12/18/tory-mp-miriam-cates-investigated-by-standards-watchdog/

[T_i_B]

2. I was thinking it might have been something elae

Specifically allegations she's made about sex education in schools, which might have been misleading.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/mar/31/overhaul-of-sex-education-in-england-based-on-overblown-claims-say-teachers

To be honest, there are numerous issues with Miriam Cates. We're at the stage where a lot of people in this area breathe a sigh of relief when she doesn't turn up at constituency events as so many of us are fed up of her antics.

[LeftishBrit]

3. She seems to be a horrible person

I thought my own former MP Nicola 'Blockhead' Blackwood (2010-2017) was bad enough; but Cates is quite a few miles further in the Sarah Palin direction.

Cates' and Dunning-Kruger's National Conservative group are scary!!!

Even apart from her being a bad constituency MP and apparently a bit dodgy.

[T_i_B]

5. She's never been personally horrible to me

Last edited Tue Dec 19, 2023, 08:17 AM - Edit history (2)

But she hasn't done anything whatsoever to earn my respect since getting elected. There are other politicians who are worse on a personal level but better at their job.

And dislike of the stuff she's been doing since she was elected unsurprisingly tends to be the major reason why some people have fallen out with her!

Especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues.

[LeftishBrit]

8. I wasn't thinking that she'd been personally horrible to constituents....

though, given the behaviour of the likes of Nadine Dorries, all things are possible.

But she is moving more in a Sarah Palin/ Rick Santorum direction than I like in my own country.

My own current MP, Layla Moran, is fine; though we've had local problems with the religious right in the past.

[Emrys]

4. Given how many of the Tories have been at it* and it seems like the floodgates might have finally opened

in getting at least a little bit of accountability going, I'm reminded of the (untrue) legend of Labour MP Dennis Skinner standing up in the Commons and declaring, "Mr Speaker, half the Tories opposite are crooks."

The speaker told him to sit down and insisted he withdraw the remark.

"OK," he said, standing up, "half the Tories opposite aren't crooks."




* Whatever it is, I'm against it. - G. Marx

[róisín_dubh]

6. My MP is pretty forgettable...

but apparently he's a decent enough guy. He's currently dealing with a huge cladding issue here in Ipswich, as well as the absolute shambles that is the route to Felixstowe port (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-67615093 )

Yours sounds like a real peach...

[T_i_B]

7. Yeah, she's getting increasingly loonier the longer she stays in Westminster

Her latest cause? Banning mobile phones for the under 16's.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/ban-under-16s-from-using-smartphones-tory-mp-suggests/ar-BB1hccn2

Former teacher Miriam Cates put the case to Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions today.

She said there had been a "marked increase" in poor teenage mental health since 2010, and that it was "time to consider banning social media and perhaps even smartphones for under 16s?"

"The United Kingdom has a strong tradition of legislating to protect children from serious threats to their safety and welfare.

"So does my right honourable friend agree with me that it's time to consider banning social media and perhaps even smartphones for under 16s?"