Another Labour retirement?

Rumours are swirling around that another Labour MP in Nottingham will announce he is standing down at the election.

Nottingham East MP John Heppell – a Labour whip – is said to be strongly considering the move.

Heppell has been around in the Commons since 1992 when he won his seat from the Conservative incumbent.

If the rumours turn out to be true he will join a string of Labour MPs from Nottinghamshire that say they’ve had enough.

Nottingham South’s Alan Simpson, Sherwood’s Paddy Tipping and Ashfield’s Geoff Hoon are all calling it a day. Meanwhile Mansfield’s Alan Meale is also said to be considering retirement.

If Meale and Heppell do stand down then that’s five out of eight Labour MPs in the city and county who will be retiring.

Changing shape of midlands Labour

After seeing that three more Labour MPs announced they were standing down I thought I’d review the situation in my area.

When I say my area, I mean the areas of the newspapers that I write for – Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and north Staffordshire.

When I started my job two years ago there were 28 Labour MPs out of a total of 40.

Eight of those have announced they are standing down – Alan Simpson, Paddy Tipping, Bob Laxton, Mark Todd, Tom Levitt, Patricia Hewitt, David Taylor (who passed away recently) and Liz Blackman.

I strongly suspect a further two, Geoff Hoon and Alan Meale, may also stand down soon.

That makes ten, about a third of the original figure, which will be replaced.

Another group of six, which includes two ministers, are in seats that are wobbly to varying degrees.

With the weakest majority first, they are: Andy Reed (1,996), David Kidney (2121), Nick Palmer (2,296), Charlotte Atkins (2,438), Vernon Coaker (3,811) and Judy Mallaber (5,275).

If we say it is probable that those with a majority of less than 3,000 could lose their seat it would mean four more MPs being replaced.

From the original 28 Labour MPs half would be replaced, either by a new Labour candidate or an opposition MP.

Don't tell him yer name Pike!

LD was chatting with serial Labour rebel Alan Simpson about the “plot” which he was suitably scornful of.

He said: “What astonished me was the incompetence and disorganisation of this latest attempt on the leadership.

“Poor Geoff seems to have emerged as the Captain Mainwaring of failed coups – there is no point in shouting ‘charge’ if you haven’t lined up the troops to go with you.

“I wasn’t involved simply because there was no wider involvement. It’s obvious there is dissatisfaction within the party, but everyone knows that half a coup is worse than no coup at all.

“In fact I’d almost be tempted to say that Downing Street would have paid good money for such a piece of political incompetence.”

Notice the nuance of his last line.

He points out that Downing Street has actually benefited – the door to a future more organised leadership challenge has been shut because this particularly incompetent one has been spiked early on.

It would be high conspiracy theory to suggest that Downing Street might actually have had something to do with the failed coup.

But if Geoff Hoon happens to pick up some sort of cushy post-politics position in the future then remember this blog.

What I am certain about is that Hoon is a man that doesn’t do anything without getting something.

Labour MPs step away

Another East Midlands Labour MP is to announce they are standing down today – that makes six.

They are Pat Hewitt, Leicester West, David Taylor, North West Leicestershire, Mark Todd, South Derbyshire, Alan Simpson, Nottingham South and Bob Laxton, Derby North, who announced he would quit earlier this week.

Later this morning Paddy Tipping, who has been around since 1992, will announce he will step down too.

All of these guys have been around for at least 12 years each, and will be replaced by newbie candidates fighting against the odds.

Their departure is a big loss for Labour, which polls show is hanging on by the skin of its teeth across the region.

Harman takes on Gord's leadership role, says Labour rebel.

Alan Simpson has got a big old rod out and is stirring up the doo-doo to the best of his ability.

The Nottingham South MP, who earlier this week said he would only pay £500 back if he were forced to by the courts, lauded Harriet Harman today for taking on the role that he said the PM had “walked away from”.

Simpson claimed Brown had “rolled over” on the expenses issue by simply ordering his MPs to hand whatever money back that Sir Thomas Legg demanded.

The rebel MP added that even loyal Labour members – like those who criticized Brown at the party’s meeting on Monday night – were beginning to realise that the PM would sacrifice anyone and anything to keep himself in Number 10.

Then up pops Harriet Harman during yesterday’s Business Questions to suggest that MP’s would be justified in not paying money back and that they were free to challenge Legg’s findings.

Simpson said: “What we saw yesterday was Harriet Harman taking on the leadership role that Gordon Brown simply seems to have walked away from.”

Rumours of a new plot to overthrow Mr Brown have begun to circulate in the Palace of Westminster.

At the end of this month Barry Sheerman MP, an arch-critic of the PM, will attempt to become the chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party – the organisation of backbench members.

Meanwhile another Notts MP Nick Palmer was among a group of ten members who launched Labour’s Future, set up to counter the idea that the party has become “intellectually exhausted”.

Palmer denied the move was meant as a criticism of the way the party was being led.

Labour MP: "You'll have to take me to court..."

Lobbydog was speaking to Alan Simpson last night who has been told to pay back £500 for a cleaning bill.

He said Sir Thomas Legg would have to take him to court before he handed the money back, and repeated the warning on Radio 4 this morning.

The problem has arisen because in one year Simpson claimed £2,500 for cleaning, which is £500 above Sir Thomas’ retrospective limit.

The Labour MP, who is standing down at the next election, told me: “There is something dangerous about someone coming in and retrospectively moving the goal posts.

“It’s like taking the film from a speed camera on a road where the speed limit is 30mph, before changing the speed limit to 20mph and then fining everyone on the film for driving too fast.”

Sir Thomas also found that Simpson had been over paid for a water bill – after he claimed through 12 months of the year, when the utility company actually only charged in eight months.

He said: “Sir Thomas’ review is a helpful procedure, I’m glad it was carried out. The water bill was a technical error and I’m happy to repay that – it comes to about £200.

“But I think it’s wrong of him to actually change the allowance limit for things retrospectively. So in regards to the £500 repayment for cleaning he has recommended, I’ll say that he needs to seek the authority of the courts.”

A very British farce

"I could’ve been absolutely stark naked and no-one would have said anything, but if you’re not wearing a jacket everything stops,” said Alan Simpson about the bizarre events of the East Midlands Grand Committee.

The Mail on Sunday noted how the MP almost got chucked out of the committee because he wasn’t wearing a jacket.

When he was told to put a jacket on he apparently mouthed to the chair that he didn’t have one, adding that the meeting would have to end if he left.

Under regulations you need at least 15 MPs for the committees to commence and there were only 15 present, including Simpson (pictured without jacket).

“Even if the world was going to come to an end, if it was World War Three, then the only thing that would have been raised at that point was the fact that I wasn’t wearing a jacket. It was a very British farce.”

That aside, the story reveals the utter pointlessness of these ‘Grand’ committees. Every MP in a region, that’s 40 odd in the East Midlands, has the right to sit on them yet they have trouble getting 15 to attend.

They have no powers to call witnesses, to carry out inquiries, write reports or make recommendations.

As Simpson deftly puts it: “If the meeting were cancelled because of the jacket, it would have meant we couldn’t have decided all the things that we had no rights to decide.”

War criminal?

An MP I was chatting to earlier said he’d wanted to call Tony Blair a “war criminal” during the Iraq War Inquiry debate today.

When he ran the idea past the Commons authorities they said he may not make it to the end of his speech if he did.

The English language was "rich enough" to say what he wanted to say, they informed him, without using words which were likely to cause a "sharp intake of breath."

UPDATE 25/06/09: Just in case you hadn't worked it out, the MP was Alan Simpson and he worked out a way to say what he wanted quite well.

Has Brown shot himself in the foot over expenses...again?

Alan Simpson MP told Lobbydog that a key factor which pushed back-benchers to rebel was the PM's handling of the expenses crisis.

He said the case of Ian Gibson MP, who was punished by Gordon Brown’s “Star Chamber” – set up last month to investigate MPs’ expenses – had caused particular anger.

It was reported that Gibson sold a taxpayer funded flat to his daughter below market value.

The Star Chamber disapproved and ruled he would not be eligible to stand at the next election.

Simpson said: “Mr Gibson is the only person to have been judged by the panel and he did so because he was confident of clearing his name, and was shocked that the panel didn’t take the same view.

“It looks as though this was a hanging that was looking for a trial. Brown should have been more demonstrative of people in his own cabinet but there’s a feeling that he couldn’t do it.

“His first action was against the back benchers and many think that is unforgivable on the part of Brown.”

Simpson's bath plug

Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson and his take on the allowances row...

More al-Ikea than al-Qaida

The Evening Post has printed a bit by Alan Simpson MP on the arrests of 114 eco-protestors planning a demo at Radcliffe-on-Soar power station.

Memories flood back of the Kingsnorth demo, at which police action was provoked by savage attacks launched by bees and sunshine.

Simpson writes: It started to look clumsy and heavy-handed - an operation conceived by people who spend too much time watching American police movies...

...The trouble with the pre-emptive arrests is that you don't have a crime.

All pertinent given G20 shenanigans.

Heathrow loyalties

It turns out that of the three Notts MPs who signed the EDM calling on the Government to scrap the runway only one voted against it last night.

Not surprisingly it was Alan Simpson (Nottingham South), while John Heppell(Nottingham East) and Nick Palmer (Broxtowe) sided with the Government.

When the chips are down...

Heathrow vote

The Tories have rather cleverly worded their Heathrow motion, now being debated, along the lines of the EDM that 57 odd Labour MPs have already signed.

It urges the Government to rethink its third runway plan.

So anyone that signed the EDM should theoretically vote with the Tories.

Any of the 57 Labour MPs which doesn't will stand accused of being a mindless Government stooge.

Three Notts MPs signed the EDM – Nick Palmer, John Heppell and Alan Simpson. I'll be watching what they do.

The Tories would need 38 Labour MPs to rebel to win the vote. That probably won't happen because right-wing Tories too will rebel against their leader and vote for the runway.

Simpson to ambush Hoon

Lobbydog has been calling for Alan Simpson to savage Geoff Hoon in the Commons over Heathrow for weeks.

The self-styled eco-warrior has just promised that today he will go all out at the Transport Secretary, who is his Notts Labour colleague.

I'd like to say that I want it to happen due to an environmental conscious on my part, but really I'm just a voyeur.

Greenpeace cock-up

"Kicking their own supporters," is how Alan Simpson has described Greenpeace's strategy to email barrage MPs.

For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to target MPs who've already shown sympathy for their cause (see below).

Simpson said he got 6,500 e-mails - which blocked his computer up, leading to complaints from constituents.

Being a proud environmentalist he must be really hacked off to lash out at Greenpeace.

UPDATE: Nottingham East MP John Heppell (pictured here with a senior Labour Party figure) also had his in-box barraged.

He said: "I thought it was a deliberate attempt to crash our systems. I didnt realise it was just stupidity."

More fight on Heathrow

So Hoon will have to face a proper debate and vote on Heathrow’s third runway.

The Transport Secretary and Notts MP had tried to dodge it but Cameron has opted to push the issue onto the agenda on Opposition Day next week.

It’ll be interesting because while a bunch of Labour MPs, including Alan Simpson (Nottingham South), will rebel – there are also Tories who secretly support it.

Either way after McDonnell’s antics the debate, on Wednesday, should launch a few fireworks.

Lobbydog wants to see Simpson going for the jugular.

Let's get readaaaay...

Now that it's all but certain that the Heathrow runway is going ahead Lobbydog wants to see a good old ding-dong between two Notts MP.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon is going to be buoyant after winning the cabinet battle over the runway.

Meanwhile Alan Simpson has been an outspoken opponent of the move – and is in rampant form having just threatened a rebellion over the Royal Mail sell-off.

Lobbydog thinks it would be healthy for political interest in Nottingham to see the two slug it out in the Commons.

There might be a chance today or at the next Transport questions on January 27. Bring it on.

Royal bust up

Lobbydog hears tensions rose at a meeting between Labour MPs and Mandelson over Royal Mail today.

Views were put to the Business Secretary very "forcefully" that his part-privatisation plan wasn't welcome.

I've heard different things about how many attended, estimates range from 30 to 60, but 71 have signed the EDM rejecting the plan.

Alan Simpson has gone all out and threatened rebellion.

The thing is, Royal Mail is going down the toilet – it's do or die time and at the moment I haven't heard of a coherent alternative plan, only vague ideas.

If there is one, they need to get it on paper quick sharp.

Simpson sees PM

Alan Simpson has an audience with Brown after PMQs today.

He'll discuss extra help for the fuel poor and is bound to start trying to sell his Tobin Tax idea.

I'll let you know later what was said.

Simpson rumour spreads

This is a bizarre one. A rumour is circulating that Alan Simpson MP has been hired by top political blogger Iain Dale - and it all began with a badly drawn Christmas card.

While not blogging Dale is publisher for the Total Politics website - which this year put out a Christmas card sporting a drawing of its staff.

Someone thought the pic of Dale (second from the left at the back) looked like the Nottingham South MP and did a joke blog on it.

Several whispers later someone tells Lobbydog seriously that Simpson has found work with Dale after he steps down at the next election.

Dale assures Lobbydog it's not true and the whole thing is the odd result of the card artist having an off-day.

Funny how rumours spread.