Meet the new minister for small business

In April 2013 it was reported that Ian Paisley, MP for North Antrim, "is not a happy bunny".

Speaking in a House of Commons debate the previous afternoon, a furious Paisley said:

I want to draw the House’s attention to a full frontal attack on £16 million-worth of salaries in Northern Ireland. I have waited some time for an opportunity to put this matter on the record, and the Government must address it. They are contemplating plain packaging for cigarettes, and they are now indicating that the proposal might be in the Queen’s Speech in a matter of weeks. We need to be absolutely clear about this.

According to the response to a freedom of information request, which is in the House of Commons Library, the Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) was interviewed by Patrick Wintour of The Guardian on or about 28 February. Five days later, on 5 March, an article appeared in that newspaper indicating that the proposal was going to be in the Queen’s Speech. That drove 2.8% off the stock market value of the shares of a manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. The share price has not yet recovered, despite Ministers’ denials that they are going to introduce such a policy on 8 May.

The Government have a duty and a responsibility to defend employment in Northern Ireland. They might not like what is being manufactured, but that industry keeps 1,100 people in jobs in Northern Ireland and puts £60 million directly into the wage economy there. More importantly, it supports tens of thousands of other smaller companies including retail shops and other minor businesses in the locality.

Although the Government subsequently postponed the introduction of plain packaging, there was never any doubt that Soubry supported the measure, nor that she supported the EU's Tobacco Products Directive that included a ban on menthol cigarettes.

In October 2014, following the announcement that JTI was to close its factory in Northern Ireland, Paisley let rip again:

On 7 October, my constituency received the devastating news that a 150-year-old manufacturing industry was to be brought to an end.

JTI Gallaher employs 900 people in Ballymena. It has existed in Northern Ireland since its foundation 150 years ago in the city of Londonderry, and it has been a mainstay of employment in Northern Ireland. It has stood along with key industries such as linen-making, textiles, rope-making and shipbuilding, and it has itself been part of one of the key industries in Northern Ireland. In my constituency, it alone employs those 900 people. It is regarded as one of the largest employers in the constituency, and, indeed, in Northern Ireland as a whole.

Let me put this into a local perspective. In a country of 1.8 million people, that employer’s wage input into my local economy is £60 million, and it puts a further £100 million into the entire Northern Ireland economy through transport, packaging and other associated industries.

Pointing the finger firmly at Soubry, he added:

While the then public health Minister, Anna Soubry, had control of tobacco products directive negotiations for the UK Government, she was required to keep Parliament informed of developments via the European Scrutiny Committee. When she was brought to that Committee on 17 July 2013, she had to apologise for poor political practice, saying:

“I do not hesitate to apologise for the fact that this Committee has not been fully informed. I only wish that, as a Minister, I was aware of all the things that happen within my portfolio.”

That is an appalling indictment of a Minister who took her eye off a brief and allowed the policy to be rammed through with the consequences that we are feeling today. We will reap a terrible harvest in Northern Ireland as a result.

The provisions under the TPD on the minimum pack sizes that may be manufactured have the direct impact that 82% of the output of my constituency’s factory will be made illegal. The Government have done that with the sweep of a pen — it is little wonder that 900 people are being told that it is over for them. The Government could have said, “Let’s continue to manufacture, but not sell in the United Kingdom,” or looked at other options, but instead they implemented a policy even though their Minister said that she was not fully aware of what was happening. That is a betrayal. It is a scandal that the Government were not paying proper attention.

Remarkably that same politician was today appointed minister of state for, er, small business.

You couldn't make it up.

See also Anna Soubry blamed for 900 Northern Ireland job losses (Dick Puddlecote).

Election 2015: final thoughts

Last week, on the eve of the general election I wrote:

Public health is the new socialism and a remarkable number of Conservatives have signed up. That's why I still can't decide whether to vote. Speaking as a lifelong Conservative voter, there is not a single party whose manifesto broadly represents my laissez faire views.

Living in a safe Conservative seat in Cambridgeshire my vote won't change anything and Cameron's support for plain packaging was the straw that broke this camel's back.

If I lived in South Thanet I'd vote for Ukip's Nigel Farage but I can't support the party as a whole because it's still too flakey for me, with far too much emphasis on immigration.

Don't get me wrong. I'll be as relieved as anyone if Ed Miliband is kept out of Downing Street and the SNP are denied any form of power sharing, but if Cameron is returned to Number Ten there will be little to celebrate.

A few days before that I wrote:

I believe that come Thursday an unexpected number of floating voters in England will vote Conservative not for love of the party or its policies or even Cameron himself.

They will vote Conservative because in the privacy of the polling booth they will reject the thought of Miliband in Downing Street with the SNP calling the shots.

That's why, in spite of the polls, I believe the Tories and Lib Dems will get enough seats to form another coalition government.

Either that or the Tories will form a minority government with a confidence and supply arrangement with the Lib Dems. I may of course be totally wrong.

Well, I was right ... and wrong. An unexpected number of people did vote Conservative but I underestimated the total.

For the record, and despite my genuine intention to abstain, I was one of them.

Late in the day I accompanied my wife and daughter to the polling station and in the privacy of the polling booth I voted for the incumbent Conservative candidate.

I did so for three reasons:

1. He voted against plain packaging.

2. On a personal level he has been helpful to my son, giving him work experience in his constituency and Westminster offices.

3. Most important, I felt I had to register my opposition to Labour, its leader, and the prospect of a Westminster government propped up by hard left Scottish nationalists.

In short, I didn't vote for David Cameron or the Conservative party. I voted for the candidate.

It was also a vote against socialism, the bully state and even bigger, more intrusive government.

In the light of subsequent events, including yesterday's absurd anti-austerity rally in London, I'm so glad I did.

Election 2015: campaign news

I would never criticise anyone who stands for parliament.

Single issue candidates rarely succeed however so I wasn't surprised by the fate that befell Vapers In Power who put forward two candidates, one in Kingswood (Bristol), the other in Barnsley East.

In Kingswood VIP's Liam Bryan came eighth out of eight candidates. He got 49 votes (0.1%) and was beaten by the British National Party (164) and the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (84) among others. The seat was won by the Conservatives' Chris Skidmore.

In Barnsley East Billy Marsden did slightly better. He also came eighth out of eight candidates but he got 103 votes and a slightly larger share of the vote (0.3%). Other candidates included Yorkshire First (647), English Democrats (440) and TUSC (364). The seat however was won by Labour's Michael Dugher.

I admire Liam and Billy for giving it a go but standing for election to promote a single issue is destined for failure because the target audience is insufficiently defined. In short, it's too big.

But don't take it from me. Listen to Lynton Crosby:

"At its absolute simplest, a campaign is simply finding out who will decide the outcome … where are they, what matters to them, and how do you reach them?"

I'll let you draw your own conclusions but for me it's invaluable advice. Thanks, Lynton!

Election 2015: my favourite moment

The BBC has been criticised for its election coverage.

I thought it was OK, a vast improvement on 2010 when the focal point was that ridiculous 'celebrity' boat on the Thames.

In 2010 the BBC election night programme was so dire and boring I was forced to channel hop. This time there was no need for the remote control.

Things did however begin to flag late on Friday afternoon when Huw Edwards, Jo Coburn and Andrew Marr found themselves talking to the cheerful, benign figure of Lord Hurd, the former Foreign Secretary.

Now aged 85, Hurd gave the appearance of someone who was on a day out from an old folks' home and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Invited to talk about Scotland, he commented:

"I don't want to be rude about the Scottish Labour MPs but they are not the pick of the bunch. Some of them turn up in the House of Lords of course, perfectly nice, some of them, but they haven't really got the guts to ..."

The rest of the sentence was inaudible because he was quickly interrupted by Coburn who could be heard saying "Damning with faint praise!" and a chuckling Andrew Marr who added:

"We established earlier on that the English were odd. Now we know that the Scots are peculiar!"

If I was a producer on Have I Got News For You an invitation would be winging its way to Lord Hurd post-haste.

Comedy gold.

Election 2015: 134 reasons to be cheerful

One hundred and four Conservative MPs voted against standardised packaging of tobacco.

Ninety-one were re-elected (see below). Those marked with an asterisk also voted for an amendment to the smoking ban:

Nigel Adams (Selby & Ainsty)
David Amess (Southend West)
Steven Baker (Wycombe)*
Harriett Baldwin (Worcestershire West)
Guto Bebb (Aberconwy)*
Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West)
Andrew Bingham (High Peak)*
Peter Bone (Wellingborough)
Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands)
Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West)*
Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North West) *
Conor Burns (Bournemouth West)
Christopher Chope (Christchurch)*
Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswolds)
Therese Coffey (Suffolk Coastal)*
Damian Collins (Folkestone & Hythe)
David Davies (Monmouth)*
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire)
Caroline Dinenage (Gosport)*
Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon)
Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock)*
Richard Drax (Dorset South)
James Duddridge (Rochford & Southend East)
Alan Duncan (Rutland & Melton)
Charlie Elphicke (Dover)*
Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley)
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield)
Mark Field (Cities of London & Westminster)
Liam Fox (Somerset North)
Mark Francois (Rayleigh & Wickford)
Richard Fuller (Bedford)
Sir Edward Garnier (Harborough)
Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest)
James Gray (Wiltshire North)
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell)
Damian Green (Ashford)
Ben Gummer (Ipswich)
Robert Halfon (Harlow)*
Greg Hands (Chelsea & Fulham)
Mark Harper (Forest of Dean)
Richard Harrington (Watford)
Simon Hart (Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South)
John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry)
Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey)
Nick Herbert (Arundel & South Downs)
George Hollingbery (Meon Valley)
Philip Hollobone (Kettering)
Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot)
Bernard Jenkin (Harwich & Essex North)
Gareth Johnson (Dartford)*
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham)
Simon Kirby (Brighton Kemptown)*
Greg Knight (Yorkshire East)*
Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne)
Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)*
Julian Lewis (New Forest East)
Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater & Somerset West)*
Karl McCartney (Lincoln)*
Anne Main (St Albans)
Stephen Metcalfe (Basildon South & Thurrock East)*
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley)
David Morris (Morecambe & Lunesdale)*
Sheryll Murray (Cornwall South East)
Bob Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst)
David Nuttall (Bury North)
Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton)
Mark Pawsey (Rugby)
Andrew Percy (Brigg & Goole)
Chris Pincher (Tamworth)
Mark Prisk (Hertford & Stortford)
John Redwood (Wokingham)
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Somerset North East)*
Andrew Rosindell (Romford)
Chris Skidmore (Kingswood)*
Mark Spencer (Sherwood)
John Stevenson (Carlisle)*
Bob Stewart (Beckenham)*
Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South)*
Julian Sturdy (York Outer)
Robert Syms (Poole)
Elizabeth Truss (Norfolk South West)*
Andrew Tyrie (Chichester)*
Charles Walker (Broxbourne)*
Ben Wallace (Wyre & Preston North)
Dame Angela Watkinson (Hornchurch & Upminster)
Heather Wheeler (Derbyshire South)
Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley)
John Whittingdale (Maldon)*
Bill Wiggin (Herefordshire North)

Jonathan Evans (Cardiff North) stood down before the election. Twelve lost their seats, including four (marked with an asterisk) who voted for an amendment to the smoking ban:

Angie Bray (Ealing Central & Acton)
Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase)*
Nick de Bois (Enfield North)
Charles Hendry (Wealden)
Anne McIntosh (Thirsk & Malton)*
Mary Macleod (Brentford & Isleworth)
Esther McVey (Wirral West)
Stephen Mosley (Chester, City of)*
Richard Ottaway (Croydon South)*
Jim Paice (Cambridgeshire South East)
Andrew Robathan (Leicestershire South)
Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West)

Three Labour MPs voted against plain packaging. Two (Stephen Hepburn and Alan Meale) were re-elected; one (Gerry Sutcliffe) retired.

Two Lib Dems voted against plain packaging. One (Jeremy Browne) retired; the other (Simon Hughes) lost his seat.

Both Ukip MPs in the last parliament voted against plain packaging. One (Douglas Carswell) was re-elected; the other (Mark Reckless) was defeated. As a Conservative MP Carswell also voted for an amendment to the smoking ban.

A further 40 re-elected MPs supported an amendment to the smoking ban. All are Conservative unless stated otherwise:

Richard Bacon
Steve Baker
Rehman Chishti
Oliver Colvile
Philip Davies
David Davis
Nigel Dodds (DUP)
Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP)
Mary Glindon (Labour)
Zac Goldsmith
Ben Gummer
Gordon Henderson
Damian Hinds
Sajid Javid
Joe Johnson
Kwasi Kwarteng
Pauline Latham
Peter Lilley
Jack Lopresti
Paul Maynard
Mark Menzies
Penny Mordaunt
Anne Marie Morris
David Morris
David Mowat
Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat)
Priti Patel
Toby Perkins (Labour)
Christopher Pincher
Laurence Robertson
Amber Rudd
Alec Shelbrooke
Henry Smith
Andrew Stephenson
Bob Stewart
Iain Stewart
Rory Stewart
Andrew Turner
Charles Walker
Craig Whittaker

In total therefore 134 candidates returned to parliament voted against plain packaging, in favour of an amendment to the smoking ban, or both.

All bar six are Conservatives.

How 'liberal' the new intake is remains to be seen but we'll find out soon enough.

Election 2015: winners and losers

So what happened to the candidates I listed as 'friend' or 'foe' according to their voting record on tobacco control?

Of my 20 'friends', seven either lost or failed to win their seats. They were:

Nigel Farage (Ukip, Thanet South)
Paul Uppal (Conservative, Wolverhampton South West)
Mary MacLeod (Conservative, Brentford & Isleworth)
Nick de Bois (Conservative, Enfield North)
Stephen Mosley (Conservative, City of Chester)
Esther McVey (Conservative, Wirral West)
Simon Hughes (Lib Dem, Bermondsey)

In hindsight it was probably a mistake to include Hughes as a 'friend'. As Chris Oakley pointed out, there were more worthy candidates in marginal or semi-marginal seats including Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) who I'm pleased to say was re-elected.

Another, perhaps, was Amber Rudd (Hastings) who didn't vote on plain packaging but did vote for an amendment to the smoking ban.

Apart from Farage, who I felt bad for on a personal level, I was particularly sorry to lose Nick de Bois and Esther McVey.

De Bois gave a brilliant speech at the Forest/TMA reception at the Conservative conference in Birmingham last year. It was passionate and funny.

He led the fight against plain packaging and was enormously popular among Conservative activists who flocked to Enfield to support his campaign for re-election. Sadly it wasn't enough but I hope we'll see him again.

McVey is not by any stretch of the imagination "smoker-friendly" but she's feisty, intelligent and courageous and I like that in an MP. I hope she'll get a safe seat, either in a by-election or at the next general election.

On the positive side, the following all won or retained their seats:

Nigel Huddleston (Conservative, Mid Worcestereshire)
Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative, Thurrock)
Mark Spencer (Conservative, Sherwood)
Karl McCartney (Conservative, Lincoln)
Richard Fuller (Conservative, Bedford)
Simon Kirby (Conservative, Brighton Kemptown)
David Nuttall (Conservative, Bury North)
Chris Skidmore (Conservative, Kingswood)
Robert Halfon (Conservative, Harlow)
Guto Bebb (Conservative, Aberconwy)
Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative, Basildon South & Thurrock East)
Douglas Carswell (Ukip, Clacton)
Ian Paisley Jr (DUP, North Antrim)

David Nuttall, Simon Kirby and Jackie Doyle-Price all won their seats by a whisker but who cares how they crossed the line? I'm just delighted they won.

Of my so-called 'foes', seven lost and won't be missed:

Julie Hilling (Labour, Bolton West)
Lorely Burt (Lib Dem, Solihull)
Paul Burstow (Lib Dem, Sutton & Cheam)
Chris Williamson (Labour, Derby North)
Ann McKetchin (Labour, Glasgow North)
Julian Huppert (Lib Dem, Cambridge)
Stephen Williams (Lib Dem, Bristol West)

Needless to say the biggest cheers greeted the defeats of Paul Burstow and Stephen Williams.

Burstow is (or was) chairman of the APPG on Smoking and Health, run by ASH, and his defeat was made even better by the fact that his replacement Paul Scully is a potential friend (not that I take anything for granted).

Williams is a former chairman of the APPG on Smoking and Health. He also helped launch the Plain Packs Protect campaign. I thought he was safe but he trailed in a poor third behind Labour and the Greens. Happy days.

Against that the following 'foes' were all returned to parliament, many with increased majorities:

Matthew Offord (Conservative, Hendon)
Anna Soubry (Conservative, Broxtowe)
Ian Austin (Labour, Dudley North)
Caroline Lucas (Green, Brighton Pavilion)
Valerie Vaz (Labour, Walsall South)
James Morris (Conservative, Halesowen & Rowley Regis)
Richard Graham (Conservative, Gloucester)
Kris Hopkins (Conservative, Keighley)
Bob Blackman (Conservative, Harrow East)
Jane Ellison (Conservative, Battersea)
Sarah Wollaston (Conservative, Totnes)
Luciana Berger (Labour, Liverpool Wavertree)
Diane Abbott (Labour, Hackney North & Stoke Newington)

As you can see the list includes several bete noires including Jane Ellison, Bob Blackman, Sarah Wollaston, Luciana Berger and Diane Abbott.

Let battle recommence!

Update: 104 Conservative MPs voted against plain packaging regulations; 91 were returned to parliament, 13 were defeated.

Election 2015: pure political theatre

Minutes before the election coverage began on Thursday night I re-read the election night blog I wrote in 2010.

Sample entries included:

22:00 – BBC exit poll predicting hung parliament - Conservatives 307 seats, Labour 255, Lib Dem 59, Others 29.

23:10 – Exit poll revised slightly: Con 305, Lab 255, Lib Dem 61, Others 29. Tories 21 short of a majority.

23:17 – I'm bored already! Is it just me?

23:50 – Listening to David Milliband, Peter Mandelson etc it's clear that Labour will do everything they can to hang on to power, with the help of the Lib Dems.

01:23 – Clear swing from Labour to Conservative throughout the country but substantial variations between and within different regions. Election could go to the wire.

02:28 – Is anyone having a good evening? The Tories are going to be the biggest single party but anything less than a majority will be viewed as a failure. Oddly enough, Labour must be feeling quite positive as things stand.

02:01 – This should be exciting but it's not. Why? Do you get the feeling that all three parties are losers in this election?

02:33 – UKIP supporters are very quiet tonight. Where are you?

03:15 – No sign of a "Portillo moment". Some people were hoping it might be Ed Balls but no sign of it at the moment. Disappointing.

02:37 – BBC: 125 seats declared and "no clear picture emerging".

03:05 – David Dimbleby: "No sense of real drama." You're telling me. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I set myself the target of 4.00am but not sure if I can be bothered. Time for a cup of strong coffee.

03:32 – Al Murray on the BBC boat: "We need something to happen."

04:12 – The Guardian's Nick Cohen calls it the "strangest election I've ever seen". Private Eye's Ian Hislop puts it a different way. What we are watching, he says, is an extremely "dull process". He's right, but how has this happened? The prospect of a hung parliament (which I don't like) should be a source of excitement. But it's not. What's gone wrong?

04:41 – It's not confirmed but Nick Robinson is reporting that Ed Balls has held his seat.

04:45 – OK, that's it. I'm tired, and bored, and dawn is breaking. Good night.

And that was it. (See Election night blog.)

Compare and contrast with 2015.

Immediate drama as the exit poll revealed a similar but unexpected Conservative lead, disappointing for Labour and disastrous for the Lib Dems.

From then on, with a few hiccups here and there, the night just got better and better.

Instead of going to bed at 4.45, as in 2010, I stayed up until 7.00 when I crawled upstairs to bed and snoozed for an hour before forcing my eyes open to see Ed Balls finally succumb.

Two hours of fitfull dozing were interrupted by the revelation that Nigel Farage had failed to win Thanet South. I felt for the man and suddenly I was awake again.

After that, a series of resignations – Clegg, Miliband and Farage, although I'd hardly call Nigel's statement a resignation. More like, "Hasta la vista, baby. I'll be back."

It was incredible stuff made even more gripping as the Conservatives edged towards a majority and beyond. Remarkably, the exit poll that had shocked everyone the previous night had underestimated the Tories' final margin of victory.

I don't care who you voted for, or if you didn't vote at all. That was pure political theatre. I loved every moment of it.

PS. I haven't even mentioned events in Scotland but, frankly, who cares?!

Cheesed off

Oh dear.

No sooner had I declared my admiration for Liz Truss than this was brought to my attention.

Politicians, they always let you down.

H/T Isi Clarke