Neil parish

Friday

Steerpike

Neil Parish attacks Chris Pincher

The Tories are in crisis, standards are in peril. So who do you turn to for ethical advice? Step forward Neil Parish, the tractor-loving, porn-perusing former MP for Tiverton. Parish, whose constituency is now, er, represented by a Liberal Democrat thanks to his resignation, was asked for his views this afternoon on Christopher Pincher. Barely concealing his resentment, Parish piled in on the former deputy chief whip who, incidentally, was part of the team which took the decision to suspend him from the Tories in April. Asked if the whip should now be removed Pincher too, Parish replied: Definitely from Christopher Pincher. The first thing they did to me, and

Thursday

Dot Wordsworth

Why disgraced MPs head for the Chiltern Hundreds

I saw in last week’s Spectator that the tractor MP had applied for the stewardship of the Manor of Northstead. After only a few days, the Chancellor of the Exchequer granted him this office of profit under the Crown, which disqualifies him from continuing as an MP. These days, when it is hard to book a doctor’s appointment and impossible to get most public corporations even to answer the telephone, it’s quick work on Rishi Sunak’s part. The Manor of Northstead is in Scarborough. The former manor house was reported in 1600 to have been used by a shepherd ‘until it fell down’. Previous stewards include David Cameron and Gerry

Saturday

Steerpike

Neil Parish to quit after watching porn in the Commons

Neil Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton, is set to quit the Commons. After he was this week accused of watching porn in the chamber, Parish swiftly had the whip withdrawn and referred himself to Parliament’s complaints process. But he initially claimed he would stay in the job and continue to represent his constituency until the inquiry finished. Now though the BBC has confirmed that Parish will stand down as an MP after admitting that he watched porn twice on the parliamentary estate. Parish suggested the first time he looked at porn it was accidental after viewing tractors on his phone, but the second time was deliberate. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster