New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
  2. UK Politics
7 October 2020

Commons Confidential: The art of revenge

Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster. 

By Kevin Maguire

Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke, inheritor of jailed “Naughty Tory” husband Charlie’s Dover seat, pocketed £25,000 for telling the Sun about the impact on their family of his conviction for sexual assaults. Her entry in the register of members’ financial interests states she spent 12 hours being interviewed for two articles that appeared in August. Bad news is evidently lucrative news. My disapproving informant muttered the payment should be donated to a victims’ charity.

In a crowded field, Wycombe MP Steve Baker, former chair of the European Research Group, may be the most self-important man in Westminster. Handling media requests for Tory MPs threatening to rebel over coronavirus laws, the former RAF engineer issued a strict template for bids from broadcasters, including the name of programme, interviewer, time, etc. The regimentation was a world away from trade deal chaos unleashed by the Brextremist and his co-conspirators.

Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
Wayne Robertson: "The science is clear on the need for carbon capture"
An old Rioja, a simple Claret,and a Burgundy far too nice to put in risotto
Antimicrobial Resistance: Why urgent action is needed