Tory MP resigns on point of principle

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, October 26th, 2016 - 25 comments
Categories: business, capitalism, climate change, Ethics, global warming - Tags: , , , , ,

No, not in NZ, of course – Zac Goldsmith quits as MP over ‘doomed’ Heathrow expansion decision.

But it did make me wonder how long it has been since any government MP here made a stand on principle? Labour has had splits that were instrumental in forming ACT, New Labour, and The Maori Party. Nat MPs seem more – docile.

While we’re passing by the subject of Heathrow though, have a read of – The decision to back a third runway at Heathrow is a grotesque folly. The madness of the consequences of increasing carbon emissions has been well hidden in the Heathrow report.

25 comments on “Tory MP resigns on point of principle ”

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  1. Draco T Bastard 1
    26 October 2016 at 9:34 am

    Nat MPs seem more – docile.
    That’s part and parcel of having an authoritarian personality – they always follow the leader.

  2. Anne 2
    26 October 2016 at 9:34 am

    Two Nat MPs resigned on a matter of principle in 1984 – Marilyn Waring and Mike Minogue. Both intended to cross the floor of the house to vote for Labour’s anti- nuclear legislation. It precipitated the early 1984 election which saw the Lange government win.

  3. Anno1701 3
    26 October 2016 at 9:48 am

    “Zac Goldsmith”

    Just anther horse faced , square jawed, inbred, Etonian, born to rule toff…….

    Britain has them coming out her ears the poor place…

  4. ropata 4
    26 October 2016 at 9:57 am

    Winston Peters was a National MP once upon a time but can’t recall why he split.

    • tc 5.1
      26 October 2016 at 10:45 am

      Yup such a rogues gallery of priviledge, class and lowbrow dog whistling those classy tories.

    • Macro 5.2
      26 October 2016 at 3:27 pm

      I think not. Zac Goldsmith is one of the few Tory MPs who truly understands Climate Change. From 1998 to 2007, he was the editor of The Ecologist magazine, after the magazine’s owner, his uncle Edward Goldsmith, gifted it to him. On entering Parliament he was instrumental in developing the current UK response to reducing GHG emissions (which at 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 are far more “adventurous” than NZ’s meagre measures.)

      As a contributing author of the book We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, published in late 2009,[39] which examines the culture of peoples around the world, he explores global diversities and threats facing humankind. Among the other contributors are western writers, such as Laurens van der Post, Noam Chomsky, Claude Lévi-Strauss and indigenous persons, such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and Roy Sesana. The book is composed of a collection of photographs, statements from tribal people, and essays from international authors, politicians, philosophers, poets, artists, journalists, anthropologists, environmentalists and photojournalists. In his essay, Goldsmith writes about how his travel around the world in his youth gave him first-hand experience of the misery brought by the promise of western “progress” and “development”. He reflects on the culture of tribal people and, in reverence to it, urges people in the modern world to question what “progress” can really mean.[40

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zac_Goldsmith
      He intends to stand for re-election in the by-election as an Independent.

    • Groundhog 5.3
      26 October 2016 at 5:54 pm

      Islam is not a race. Quoting the Guardian can be fraught with problems.

  6. Richard Rawshark 6
    26 October 2016 at 10:59 am

    Don’t evenm think i’d call them Tories anymore, The Tories I remember spoke like they had a plum in their mouths and although misguided they at least tried.

    All pretence of doing good has gone from modern Tories and they ain’t that posh anymore.

    Or should I say a real Tory would never get actually caught lying.

  7. ianmac 7
    26 October 2016 at 11:19 am

    I read somewhere that to extend Heathrow meant that whole huge swathes of beautiful parkland would be lost, all for the sake of a “better” economy. Sound familiar?

    • dukeofurl 7.1
      26 October 2016 at 3:14 pm

      The M25 and M4 motorways pass through as well. Not really parkland. Some large artificial treatment ponds for Thames river water to ‘clean it up’ before going into water distribution system

      • Gangnam Style 7.1.1
        26 October 2016 at 8:21 pm

        That Crass documentary ‘Do they owe us a living’ mentions the battles they have had fighting the Airport extention (the Crass house is in the way). It’s a great film about art & protest & being stubborn.

  8. Mike the Lefty 8
    26 October 2016 at 12:03 pm

    I’m sure you are using the word “docile” sarcastically.
    The proper word is “spineless”.
    Actually I can think of one occasion when a National MP actually took action on something, when Shane Adern drove a tractor onto parliament’s steps. (National was in opposition at the time)
    Bold?
    Probably as bold as you could get from a National MP in opposition. As for a National MP in government, a shake of the head would be considered very subversive in this government. Imagine if they had to deal with another Marilyn Waring?

  9. Anne 9
    26 October 2016 at 3:37 pm

    Imagine if they had to deal with another Marilyn Waring?

    Couldn’t happen today. Don’t all potential Nat parliamentary candidates have to go through a formal brainwashing course before being allowed anywhere near parliament? Anyone who showed signs of independent thinking would be culled as “unsuitable for a political career”.

  10. fisiani 10
    26 October 2016 at 11:02 pm

    We do not have Tory MP,s in NZ
    All the National MP’s would vote Democrat.

    • Muttonbird 10.1
      26 October 2016 at 11:11 pm

      Untrue. Key and Cameron are very similar. The relevance of Cameron has faded and the relevance of Key is fading.