Where's Mum? Or rather - where was my MP yesterday?
Did you ask your MP to speak up and attend yesterday's debate on puppy and kitten farming?
I know I did (still no reply from Mr Gove or his assistant....).
According to Hansard, only 54 MPs out of the 650 we elected spoke - and by the looks of this photo, everyone who was there said something as I can't see 54 people in this photo!
And one of those MPs only said two sentences - one of which was to say that his own dogs didn't love him!
Here is a photo of the streaming of the debate... can you spot your MP?
At least some MPs understood that this was something of major significance - that their constituents really cared about.
Conservative Justin Tomlinson said: "Interestingly, my Facebook page with the article on the campaign attracted over 60,000 views and 534 shares, which is 10 times more than for anything I have done before."
(Isn't that a depressing revelation! Any decent post on our Facebook page gets many more views, shares and likes. How disenfranchised are we? Have we given up on our politicians?)
Why did so few MPs turn out?
While it was sweet to hear some of the MPs telling us the names of their dogs and one begging his Pugs to be judged kindly at the next Westminster Dog of the Year show, it was all rather patronising really when dogs and cats are dying and owners are suffering.
And the van loads of underage, illegal puppies roll in unchecked from Eastern Europe -pouring into our ports and into our pet shops and on to the Internet.
A small group of MPs saying 'we really must do something and lets talk about this some more' didn't help me sleep better at nights, how about you?
A few had bothered to do some research, Caroline Lucas of the Green Party was very impressive... but maybe almost everyone else was just terrified that if they said something meaningful they may actually end up in position where they might actually have to implement something...!
A few issues ago I wrote about forming our own Puppy Party and fielding some candidates at the next election. Coming up with a proper Dogifesto that at the very least would give those MPs with an appetite for tackling the dog problems in society a clear vision of what to do. Let's do a UKIP and get a much-ignored policy higher up the political agenda so everyone wants to get involved.
If you are keen for change and would either like to stand as a candidate or to help canvas support and join the party, do email me with all your details as I fear even with a massive petition delivered to Downing Street, and this parliamentary debate, any real progress on dog issues still seems a very, very distant dream.
Put 'Puppy Party' in the subject and email beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk
Listening to that debate was at times almost as excruciating as it must have been for the poor person who marked my Chemistry mock O level all those years ago.
I confess I had done no revision as I knew I was going to be bunking off to go to Crufts.
But the teachers (who saw Crufts on the TV and had had long ago spotted I took days off sick at this time every year) had surprised me by making me sit the exam on my own the first morning I returned to school.
I was in trouble, I had no residual interest in the subject at all so had to cram if I was ever to pass.
Faced with a blank page I just peppered my paper with chemical sounding things.
I just felt that several of those MPs were standing up doing just as I had... filling in the dead space by telling us anecdotes about their pets in a similar unprepared way to the way I had waffled through that exam...
It was not good enough for my mock O level and it certainly was not good enough for the dogs (and cats) of Britain.
Here's who spoke by party:
31 Conservatives
16 Labour
3 Lib Dems
2 Labour/Co-op
1 Green
1 Plaid Cymru
Can you find your MP? Do drop them a line if not and encourage those that did turn up.
I know I did (still no reply from Mr Gove or his assistant....).
According to Hansard, only 54 MPs out of the 650 we elected spoke - and by the looks of this photo, everyone who was there said something as I can't see 54 people in this photo!
And one of those MPs only said two sentences - one of which was to say that his own dogs didn't love him!
Here is a photo of the streaming of the debate... can you spot your MP?
At least some MPs understood that this was something of major significance - that their constituents really cared about.
Conservative Justin Tomlinson said: "Interestingly, my Facebook page with the article on the campaign attracted over 60,000 views and 534 shares, which is 10 times more than for anything I have done before."
(Isn't that a depressing revelation! Any decent post on our Facebook page gets many more views, shares and likes. How disenfranchised are we? Have we given up on our politicians?)
Why did so few MPs turn out?
While it was sweet to hear some of the MPs telling us the names of their dogs and one begging his Pugs to be judged kindly at the next Westminster Dog of the Year show, it was all rather patronising really when dogs and cats are dying and owners are suffering.
And the van loads of underage, illegal puppies roll in unchecked from Eastern Europe -pouring into our ports and into our pet shops and on to the Internet.
A small group of MPs saying 'we really must do something and lets talk about this some more' didn't help me sleep better at nights, how about you?
A few had bothered to do some research, Caroline Lucas of the Green Party was very impressive... but maybe almost everyone else was just terrified that if they said something meaningful they may actually end up in position where they might actually have to implement something...!
A few issues ago I wrote about forming our own Puppy Party and fielding some candidates at the next election. Coming up with a proper Dogifesto that at the very least would give those MPs with an appetite for tackling the dog problems in society a clear vision of what to do. Let's do a UKIP and get a much-ignored policy higher up the political agenda so everyone wants to get involved.
If you are keen for change and would either like to stand as a candidate or to help canvas support and join the party, do email me with all your details as I fear even with a massive petition delivered to Downing Street, and this parliamentary debate, any real progress on dog issues still seems a very, very distant dream.
Put 'Puppy Party' in the subject and email beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk
Listening to that debate was at times almost as excruciating as it must have been for the poor person who marked my Chemistry mock O level all those years ago.
I confess I had done no revision as I knew I was going to be bunking off to go to Crufts.
But the teachers (who saw Crufts on the TV and had had long ago spotted I took days off sick at this time every year) had surprised me by making me sit the exam on my own the first morning I returned to school.
I was in trouble, I had no residual interest in the subject at all so had to cram if I was ever to pass.
Faced with a blank page I just peppered my paper with chemical sounding things.
I just felt that several of those MPs were standing up doing just as I had... filling in the dead space by telling us anecdotes about their pets in a similar unprepared way to the way I had waffled through that exam...
It was not good enough for my mock O level and it certainly was not good enough for the dogs (and cats) of Britain.
Here's who spoke by party:
31 Conservatives
16 Labour
3 Lib Dems
2 Labour/Co-op
1 Green
1 Plaid Cymru
Can you find your MP? Do drop them a line if not and encourage those that did turn up.
| Albert Owen |
(Ynys Môn)
|
Labour | |||
Alec Shelbrooke
|
(Elmet and Rothwell)
|
Conservative | |||
AlisonSeabeck
|
(Plymouth,MoorView)
|
Labour | |||
Angela Smith
|
(Penistone and Stocksbridge)
|
Labour | |||
Bill Wiggin
|
(North Herefordshire)
|
Conservative | |||
Bob Stewart
|
(Beckenham)
|
Conservative | |||
Caroline Lucas
|
(Brighton, Pavilion)
|
Green | |||
Daniel Kawczynski
|
(Shrewsbury and Atcham)
|
Conservative | |||
Derek Twigg
|
(Halton)
|
Labour | |||
Dr Julian Lewis
|
(New Forest East)
|
Conservative | |||
| Dr Matthew Offord | (Hendon) | Conservative | |||
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
|
(The Cotswolds)
|
Conservative | |||
Guy Opperman
|
(Hexham)
|
Conservative | |||
Heather Wheeler
|
(South Derbyshire)
|
Conservative | |||
Ian Lucas
|
(Wrexham)
|
Labour | |||
| Jake Berry | (Rossendale and Darwen | Conservative | |||
Jeremy Corbyn
|
(Islington North)
|
Labour | |||
Jim Fitzpatrick
|
(Poplar and Limehouse)
|
Labour | |||
John McDonnell
|
(Hayes and Harlington)
|
Labour | |||
Jonathan Edwards
|
(Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
|
PC | |||
Jonathan Reynolds
|
(Stalybridge and Hyde)
|
Labour/co op | |||
Justin Tomlinson
|
(North Swindon
|
Conservative | |||
Kerry McCarthy
|
(Bristol East)
|
Labour | |||
Kevin Brennan
|
(Cardiff West)
|
Labour | |||
Mark Pritchard
|
(The Wrekin)
|
Conservative | |||
Meg Munn
|
(Sheffield, Heeley)
|
Labour/co op | |||
Michael Fabricant
|
(Lichfield
|
Conservative | |||
Miss Anne McIntosh
|
(Thirsk and Malton)
|
Conservative | |||
Mr Andrew Turner
|
(Isle of Wight)
|
Conservative | |||
Mr David Amess
|
(Southend West)
|
Conservative | |||
Mr David Burrowes
|
(Enfield, Southgate)
|
Conservative | |||
Mr Dominic Raab
|
(Esher and Walton)
|
Conservative | |||
Mr Geoffrey Robinson
|
(Coventry North West)
|
Labour | |||
Mr George Howarth
|
(Knowsley)
|
Labour | |||
Mr Henry Bellingham
|
(North West Norfolk)
|
Conservative | |||
Mr John Redwood
|
(Wokingham)
|
Conservative | |||
Mrs Sharon Hodgson
|
(Washington and Sunderland West)
|
Labour | |||
Neil Parish
|
(Tiverton and Honiton)
|
Conservative | |||
Nicola Blackwood
|
(Oxford West and Abingdon)
|
Conservative | |||
Oliver Colvile
|
(Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
|
Conservative | |||
Pat Glass
|
(North West Durham)
|
Labour | |||
Paul Burstow
|
(Sutton and Cheam)
|
LD | |||
Richard Graham
|
(Gloucester)
|
Conservative | |||
Richard Harrington
|
(Watford
|
Conservative | |||
Robert Flello
|
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
|
Labour | |||
Robert Neill
|
(Bromley and Chislehurst
|
Conservative | |||
Roger Williams
|
(Brecon and Radnorshire)
|
LD | |||
Simon Kirby
|
(Brighton, Kemptown)
|
Conservative | |||
Sir Edward Leigh
|
(Gainsborough)
|
Conservative | |||
Sir Roger Gale
|
(North Thanet)
|
Conservative | |||
Stephen Lloyd
|
(Eastbourne
|
LD | |||
| Steve McCabe | (Birmingham, Selly Oak) | Labour | |||
Tim Loughton
|
(East Worthing and Shoreham)
|
Conservative | |||
| Zac Goldsmith | (Richmond Park) | Conservative | |||
by ward:
(Beckenham)
|
Conservative |
Bob Stewart
|
|||
| (Birmingham, Selly Oak) | Labour | Steve McCabe | |||
(Brecon and Radnorshire)
|
LD |
Roger Williams
|
|||
(Brighton, Kemptown)
|
Conservative |
Simon Kirby
|
|||
(Brighton, Pavilion)
|
Green |
Caroline Lucas
|
|||
(Bristol East)
|
Labour |
Kerry McCarthy
|
|||
(Bromley and Chislehurst
|
Conservative |
Robert Neill
|
|||
(Cardiff West)
|
Labour |
Kevin Brennan
|
|||
(Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
|
PC |
Jonathan Edwards
|
|||
(Coventry North West)
|
Labour |
Mr Geoffrey Robinson
|
|||
(East Worthing and Shoreham)
|
Conservative |
Tim Loughton
|
|||
(Eastbourne
|
LD |
Stephen Lloyd
|
|||
(Elmet and Rothwell)
|
Conservative |
Alec Shelbrooke
|
|||
(Enfield, Southgate)
|
Conservative |
Mr David Burrowes
|
|||
(Esher and Walton)
|
Conservative |
Mr Dominic Raab
|
|||
(Gainsborough)
|
Conservative |
Sir Edward Leigh
|
|||
(Gloucester)
|
Conservative |
Richard Graham
|
|||
(Halton)
|
Labour |
Derek Twigg
|
|||
(Hayes and Harlington)
|
Labour |
John McDonnell
|
|||
| (Hendon) | Conservative | Dr Matthew Offord | |||
(Hexham)
|
Conservative |
Guy Opperman
|
|||
(Isle of Wight)
|
Conservative |
Mr Andrew Turner
|
|||
(Islington North)
|
Labour |
Jeremy Corbyn
|
|||
(Knowsley)
|
Labour |
Mr George Howarth
|
|||
(Lichfield
|
Conservative |
Michael Fabricant
|
|||
(New Forest East)
|
Conservative |
Dr Julian Lewis
|
|||
(North Herefordshire)
|
Conservative |
Bill Wiggin
|
|||
(North Swindon
|
Conservative |
Justin Tomlinson
|
|||
(North Thanet)
|
Conservative |
Sir Roger Gale
|
|||
(North West Durham)
|
Labour |
Pat Glass
|
|||
(North West Norfolk)
|
Conservative |
Mr Henry Bellingham
|
|||
(Oxford West and Abingdon)
|
Conservative |
Nicola Blackwood
|
|||
(Penistone and Stocksbridge)
|
Labour |
Angela Smith
|
|||
(Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
|
Conservative |
Oliver Colvile
|
|||
(Plymouth,MoorView)
|
Labour |
AlisonSeabeck
|
|||
(Poplar and Limehouse)
|
Labour |
Jim Fitzpatrick
|
|||
| (Richmond Park) | Conservative | Zac Goldsmith | |||
| (Rossendale and Darwen | Conservative | Jake Berry | |||
(Sheffield, Heeley)
|
Labour/co op |
Meg Munn
|
|||
(Shrewsbury and Atcham)
|
Conservative |
Daniel Kawczynski
|
|||
(South Derbyshire)
|
Conservative |
Heather Wheeler
|
|||
(Southend West)
|
Conservative |
Mr David Amess
|
|||
(Stalybridge and Hyde)
|
Labour/co op |
Jonathan Reynolds
|
|||
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
|
Labour |
Robert Flello
|
|||
(Sutton and Cheam)
|
LD |
Paul Burstow
|
|||
(The Cotswolds)
|
Conservative |
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
|
|||
(The Wrekin)
|
Conservative |
Mark Pritchard
|
|||
(Thirsk and Malton)
|
Conservative |
Miss Anne McIntosh
|
|||
(Tiverton and Honiton)
|
Conservative |
Neil Parish
|
|||
(Washington and Sunderland West)
|
Labour |
Mrs Sharon Hodgson
|
|||
(Watford
|
Conservative |
Richard Harrington
|
|||
(Wokingham)
|
Conservative |
Mr John Redwood
|
|||
(Wrexham)
|
Labour |
Ian Lucas
|
|||
(Ynys Môn)
|
Labour |
Albert Owen
|
|||
Have a read of the transcript here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/chan32.pdf (page 23 onwards).
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