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Nov 1, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
Whilst some go the whole hog and declare the membership should be completely stripped of their role in choosing the next Conservative leader, I do not quite go that far. We need to be careful and reflect that having a say in the leader is one of the few remaining perks of party members, many of whom already feel they are just fodder for donations and campaigning.
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Aug 6, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
There is merit to this argument: there is always a balance between allowing MPs to scrutinise legislation and the Government business managers wishing to pass legislation. As a result of the Brexit and pandemic periods, this balance has tended more towards the latter than the former, and is becoming the new normal rather than the exception.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
In recent articles, I have been examining how the House of Commons operates, how MPs arrange and organise themselves there and what personalities serve in it. More fundamental is how these representatives achieve their office in the first place and become Members of Parliament. Britain has used the ‘first past the post’ system for centuries, and it remains a vital and sound system of electing MPs to our Parliament.
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May 23, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
Select Committees speak with the authority of the expertise of their members, coupled with the election by their peers and the expert support from the clerks. It is widely said amongst Parliamentarians that one can be more influential as a Select Committee chair than as a Junior Minister.
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Apr 18, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
This is the general tactic that my colleagues and I used in 2013, when the Coalition Government was giving active consideration to providing weapons to groups opposed to the Syrian régime. I held to the view that Western governments did not fully appreciate the extent of penetration by less desirable groups such as the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda &c, and the difficulty of restricting supply to just the ‘good’ rebels.
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Mar 26, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
Meanwhile, a ban on second jobs, which is regularly mooted, is another matter causing concern for colleagues and constituents alike. This would further insulate the Commons from the outside world and the wealth of experience that legitimate outside interests often bring. In any case, any ban on second jobs would somehow have to square how being a Minister isn’t like having a second job – which to all intents and purposes, especially in time commitment and increased remuneration, it is.
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Feb 15, 2024 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
This year marks 23 years since I entered Parliament. It has been an interesting and fulfilling job, but after nearly a quarter of a century I have decided the forthcoming General Election is a good time to stand down. I will miss Parliament greatly but, without wishing reasons to be misconstrued, always believe it is best to leave a party when you’re still enjoying it.
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Dec 18, 2023 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
The world is forgetting that there is a desperate European conflict still raging. Ukraine continues to struggle valiantly against the Russian invasion, whose extensive defensive fortifications, put in place during last winter’s lull in the fighting, have so far remained firm and frustrated Kyiv’s aim of a decisive counter-offensive this year.
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Dec 5, 2023 | 
conservativehome.com | John Baron MP
John Baron is MP for Basildon and Billericay. A common theme in this slot is the consistent belief that the Prime Minister will be returned after the next general election with a good working majority. The current polling may make for grim reading for Conservatives, and the string of by-election defeats are disheartening, but it would be surprising if a Government in office during a global spike in inflation and cost-of-living crisis wasn’t taking a kick in the polls.
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Nov 1, 2023 | 
commentcentral.co.uk | John Baron MP
The two longer-term announcements in the Prime Minister’s are also commendable. It has long been considered a weakness of the A-Level system that pupils specialise too early, and a firm grip of maths will be important for our future prosperity. As the former chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer, I also applaud moves to reduce smoking.
