It was Dorries wot lost it!
3:36 pm - May 21st 2008
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It came down to the crunch, and after everything, not even the 200 supporters Nadine Dorries said she had bothered to turn up to vote for a reduction in the abortion limit to 20 weeks. All the hype about the vote being close turned out to be bluster, with the amendment being rejected by a majority of 142, 190 votes for to 332 against. All the attempts by Dorries to turn to complete emotion, raising the issue of the baby boy she witnessed struggling to breathe once again during the debate, after saying that she hadn’t wanted to use it, have failed.
This was after she said that Labour MPs were supposedly on a three-line-whip to “attend” so that they knew which way they were to be expected to vote. Desperation doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Who knows just how much of an impact the blogging campaign against Dorries has had, if any, but yesterday also saw another of the allegations against her, her connections with Christian fundamentalists,completely verified by Channel 4’s Dispatches, showing Dorries almost arm in arm with Andrea Minichiello Williams of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship.
Dorries has been moved by the programme to hysterically post on her “blog” that she isn’t a fundie, but then no one ever claimed she was. The allegation was instead that her entire campaign was being organised and funded by them, which the Dispatches programme more than demonstrated. For all Dorries’ claims of being pro-choice, as she again claimed in parliament yesterday, that she has been working with organisations completely opposed to a woman’s right to choose either makes her a stooge, a useful idiot, or a liar.
Among Williams’ more interesting views is that the Earth is only around 4,000 years old, not even the usual 6,000 as others in the fundamentalist fold usually hold.
Especially gratifying during the debate was that “Red” Dawn Primarolo still has enough fire about her from the old days to call Dorries exactly the latter, albeit in parliamentary language: “She has asserted many things as fact which are not this evening.”
Equal amounts of opprobrium ought to fall on the Thatcherite throwback Edward Leigh, who declared that “One of the most dangerous places in Britain is in a woman’s womb.” Perhaps he has something he’d like to tell us?
With 22 weeks defeated by 71 votes, the 20 weeks campaign is most likely going to have to wait another good few years before it starts its war of misleading yet again. In the meantime, some of us might well be moved to do everything possible to ensure that Ms Dorries loses her (safe) seat at the next election.
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'Septicisle' is a regular contributor to Liberal Conspiracy. He mostly blogs, poorly, over at Septicisle.info on politics and general media mendacity.
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Story Filed Under: Blog ,Campaigns ,Coalition For Choice ,e) Briefings ,Feminism ,Nadine Dorries ,Westminster
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Reader comments
in fairness to Ed Leigh – he’s pretty up front about what he is. He’s a hardline social conservative and even stood (nominally) for the Tory leadership on that basis. You can be pretty sure he holds his views completely independently and is reasonably honest about them.
The other one? Well I drew up an interview for her this morning. she has promised to take part, I will complete my opinion of her from that.
“the 20 weeks campaign is most likely going to have to wait another good few years before it starts its war of misleading yet again”
It really depends on how the next election goes. Most Tory MPs support 20 weeks, most Labour and Lib Dems oppose it. If they keep splitting in the proportions they do, I reckon that a Tory majority of 38 would be the tipping point that puts the 20-weekers ahead.
Did anyone listen to ‘Madine’ being interviewed on BBC 5Live last night after the results were announced? She was still insisting that Labour MPs had been subject to a three line party whip, and in effect forced into voting against the amendments to back up the failing support for Gordon, especially after his comments at the weekend.
For Nadine to say that religious beliefs had not played a part in the vote was a blatant lie, as we are all aware.
I’m sure Nadine’s new friends at the LCF and Christian Concern for our Nation, (one in the same) have been deep in prayer today. I still think that there is a need for parliament need to investigate Nadine’s campaign – not only the funding issue, but the fact that an elected MP of this country is openly working with groups who send out such a hate filled message to many parts of the community.
http://armchairnews.co.uk/2008/05/19/womens-bodies-become-a-political-football/
“Who knows just how much of an impact the blogging campaign against Dorries has had, if any,”
Well, I don’t want to sound uncharitable, but given the amount of criticism there’s been about how few MPs bother to even read emails, let alone blogs, I’d have to conclude that the blogging ‘campaign’ was marginal to say the least. That’s not to say that it wasn’t worthwhile, as all debate is useful in generating interest. But I’m guessing that most of the MPs who voted on the issue were of the same opinion at the beginning of the debate as they were at the end.
Still, it’s worthwhile keeping the discussion going about this odd woman, Dorries.
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