Blair’s absenteeism in the spotlight
The Prime Minister has the worst Commons voting record of any modern leader, The Times has claimed.
Analysis from the House of Commons Library revealed Tony Blair voted – on average – in just eight per cent of Commons divisions since assuming power in 1997, the newspaper said.
In the 2003-04 session, the premier entered division lobbies for just six per cent of the votes.
The figure was a slight improvement on the low of five per cent in the 1997-98 session, the paper noted.
Comparing Mr Blair’s performance to his two Conservative predecessors, The Times found John Major attended 42 per cent of votes during the 1996-1997 session. His lowest was 18 per cent after he took over from Margaret Thatcher, who had a high of 44 per cent during the 1983-184 session.
Mr Blair was also compared to rivals on the opposition benches during the latest session.
Conservative Party leader, Michael Howard, voted in over a third of votes (36 per cent), while Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy voted in 54 per cent of divisions.
Mr Kennedy said Mr Blair had made “too much of a habit of bypassing parliament”.
Dr Liam Fox, Conservative Party co-chairman, said Mr Blair’s record was beginning to make “a mockery” of the parliamentary process.
Last night, Downing Street flagged up how Mr Blair, the MP for Sedgefield, had made his job more accountable and busier, citing the biannual Liaison Committee meeting, record statements to parliament on Government business, as well as his monthly press conference.
Labour leader Harold Wilson holds the record for a premier’s participation in voting during his second reign of office in the mid-70s with an attendance record of 48 per cent.
Overall, voting among MPs dropped from 68 per cent in 2002-03 to 65 per cent, despite a reduction in late night sittings.
The most active MP in the lobbies was Skinner Dennis, Labour MP for Bolsover, with a 97 per cent attendance.
Wray Jimmy, Labour MP for Glasgow Baillieston, was the most inactive with a one per cent attendance record.
On the floor of the house, politics.co.uk – in its unique index analysis for November – found Labour’s David Drew the most active MP, ahead of Robert Spink, Conservative MP for Castle Point.
Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth Mike Hancock was third.
