MPs rise to the tragic occasion in tribute to much-loved backbencher with jokes and stories
There was an empty space on the packed Conservative benches where Sir David Amess used to sit. Which was as it should have been, because he was there in spirit if not in person. Parliamentary sessions where MPs remember colleagues who have died can sometimes feel somewhat formulaic – dutiful, even, with the sense that MPs are rather going through the motions, with their speeches saying as much about themselves as the departed. The farewell to Amess was very different. It was as close to a wake as the House of Commons is likely to see, with every MP doing their best to rise to the occasion. To find the right words that summed up a life and career well lived. And much loved.
Amess was one of those politicians who these days often slip beneath the media radar. Someone who throughout his 38 years in Westminster never once looked on becoming an MP as a stepping stone to higher office. If he dreamed of a ministerial career, he kept it extremely well hidden, preferring instead to become the model backbench MP, devoted both to the interests of his constituents and cross-party causes in which he believed. And it was these often undervalued qualities to which his friends and colleagues tried to give voice.
Continue reading...from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2YUg5PX
No comments:
Post a Comment