Incidentally, after writing the previous post, I clicked the 42 days tag to see what, if anything, was on wordpress.com about the issue. It took me to the blog of one Tom Harris MP(above), hilariously and originally titled “And another thing”.  The post in question, “Why I’ll vote for 42 days”, does what it says on the tin – “Because we couldn’t get 90 days through” is the answer, in case you cared. 

As the photos above suggest, Harris is your standard issue New Labour middle management cyborg, whose solidly rightwing instincts have propelled him to the giddy heights of some junior ministerial post in Transport.  I also note he claims membership of an all-party Islam group.  Given his voting record, one wonders what he finds to talk about at its gatherings:

How Tom Harris voted on key issues since 2001:

• Voted very strongly against a transparent Parliament. votes, speeches
• Voted a mixture of for and against introducing a smoking ban. votes, speeches
• Voted strongly for introducing ID cards. votes, speeches
• Voted moderately for introducing foundation hospitals. votes, speeches
• Voted strongly for introducing student top-up fees. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for Labour’s anti-terrorism laws. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for the Iraq war. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly against an investigation into the Iraq war. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for replacing Trident. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for the hunting ban. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for equal gay rights. votes, speeches

Stay tuned for gems from the minister’s blog as they emerge.