Guildford’s MP Sacked as PPS and Restored Within Hours, As Government Reconsiders Standards Proposal

Published on: 4 Nov, 2021
Updated on: 31 Jan, 2022

By Martin Giles

Within hours of Guildford MP Angela Richardson being removed from her position as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, she has been reappointed.

This morning she tweeted:

Angela Richardson’s tweet

Her removal from her position as PPS to Mr Gove, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, followed her decision to abstain yesterday (November 3, 2021) in the controversial parliamentary vote on an amendment that would change the way MP standards are policed. The position of PPS is seen as the lowest rung of government appointments.

Definition of a PPS as published on the UK Parliament website.

Thirteen Conservative MPs rebelled, breaking a three-line whip to vote against the amendment and an unprecedented 109 Conservative MPs abstained from the vote, although some were absent from parliament to attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Sir Paul Beresford (MP for Mole Valley) also abstained. Michael Gove (MP for Surrey Heath) and Jonathan Lord (MP for Woking) supported the government.

Following the backlash, the government today has U-turned on its plans and says it will reconsider.

Sallie Barker, chair of Guildford Conservatives said: “We support Angela’s principled stance on this issue and we have no doubt that it will be ‘business as usual’ in the constituency with Angela’s hard work supporting local residents as always.”

Zoe Franklin

Zöe Franklin who speaks for Guildford Lib Dems on Parliamentary matters said: “Abstaining in a vote to get another Tory MP off the hook for engaging in paid lobbying and breaking parliamentary standards rules is not a ‘principled stand’. Instead, it is very much ‘trying to avoid getting in trouble’ by sitting on your hands in the hope that you’ll get to keep your job and avoid angering constituents. And, frankly, trying to convince Guildford constituents that an abstention was a principled approach is simply insulting.

“If Angela Richardson wanted to take a principled stance she should have voted against as a handful of other, more honourable, Conservative MPs did. Certainly, giving up your PPS role with a fanfare and then gladly accepting a reinstatement in the space of 16 hours is not the act of an honourable person putting constituents ahead of personal advancement.”

“Not only did we see the Conservatives showing utter disregard for the rules that hold them to account, we have MPs claiming they are putting their own ambitions aside for the good of the country, only to accept a position in the government whose actions they claim to so fundamentally disagree with.

“The voters will not be fooled so easily, but it should not take public outrage to make the government do the right thing. We look forward to seeing more of these ‘principles’ in action in the emergency debate, secured today by the Liberal Democrats, on Monday in the House of Commons.”

Background

Crawley MP Toby Perkins (Labour) angrily brandishing cash at the government in reference to Mr Paterson’s paid lobbying – Image UK Parliament

The BBC reported: “The Commons Standards Committee and its commissioner concluded last week that Tory MP Mr Paterson (North Shropshire) was found to have misused his position as an MP to benefit two firms he worked for.

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