I’ve sometimes joked that Dennis Skinner must be a Time Lord, because everytime I he speaks I feel like I’m going back into the 1970s. His tone sounds like an an old-school, angry industrial worker on strike (he was a miner though before becoming an MP and was a well-known supporter of Arthur Scargill). It’s very different to anything else you’re likely to hear in modern day politics and, in a way, it makes him unique.
However, being unique isn’t necessarily good in this case. He’s often criticised for the very thing that makes him a cult figure. He isn’t willing to ‘play the game’ and isn’t involved with groups related to the formation of policy. From all accounts, you are never likely to hear him in high level internal discussions either (although this might have happened occasionally whilst is was Chairman of the Labour Party for one year – 1988-1989).
When looking back at some of the details of his political career though, I discovered several things that I found quite interesting. This post goes through those things and at the end I will tell you if my overall opinion of him has changed.
Photo taken by Mark Benney (Flickr, Copyright)
Elections
There have only been two MPs (both Labour) for the Bolsover constituency (created in 1950) and Dennis Skinner was elected as the second of them in 1970. Realistically, the only ways that he’d lose his seat is if he died on the job or retired. This Labour heartland will keep choosing him as their representative until they are unable to and the following election results add weight to the argument:
| Year | Votes | Majority (%) | 2nd place |
| 2010 | 21,994 | 50 | Conservative |
| 2005 | 25,217 | 65.2 | Liberal Democrat |
| 2001 | 26,249 | 68.6 | Conservative |
| 1997 | 35,073 | 74 | Conservative |
| 1992 | 33,973 | 64.5 | Conservative |
Even under AV he’d get elected every time. Although the post-1997 vote totals have decreased noticeably (by more than what could be caused by boundary changes), the majorities are still more than most of his colleagues. The one strange thing is how the Conservatives often come second in what is mostly a centre-left area (something that would normally suggest that the Liberal Democrats should have more success).
In the Commons
Skinner has supposedly been suspended from Parliament on ten occasions (at least) for use of inappropriate language. The most recent example (that I know of) happened in 2006, so it doesn’t seem likely that this will happen in the future.
His penchant for breaking guideline comes from the fact that he’s a vehament anti-royalist. In fact, he never attends a Queen’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament in the House of Lords. He is also well-known to be anti-House of Lords, which could be another reason for him not attending.
He is reported to have never missed a sitting of the House of Commons and that means there are a number of examples of the ‘angry’ tone that I mentioned earlier. One example is:
“Would not a fair summary of the Foreign Secretary’s statement be that it suggests the halcyon days of the Arab spring are fast moving towards a harsh winter and that all that will remain is a big bill for the British people to pay?”
More examples can be found here.
He does have a humorous side though. For instance, he is always expected to say something funny when Black Rod enters the Commons at the state opening of Parliament. The following is just one instance (if you don’t want the build-up, skip to 2:09):
He might be ever-so-slightly anti-establishment, but you could look at all this from another perspective. He could simply be reflecting the views of every disenchanted voter who’s unhappy with the extravagance of modern-day politics and those people who are in power (even if they are his own party – will cover this next).
Voting record
Skinner is part of a group of MPs known as the ‘Awkward Squad’ – those who are known for not always following the party line. For example, in the 2001-2005 period, he rebelled 111 times and in 05-10 he rebelled 70 times.
However, this is where it starts to get really interesting. The following data was found here on ‘The Public Whip':
| From | To | Rebellions | Attendance |
| 2010 | present | 11 out of 276 | 276 out of 290 |
| 2005 | 2010 | 70 out of 1237 | 1237 out of 1288 |
| 2001 | 2005 | 111 out of 1053 | 1053 out of 1246 |
| 1997 | 2001 | 53 out of 1158 | 1158 out of 1273 |
If you have read either of my posts about the recent performance of Gordon Brown (the second of those being the first in the ‘Brown Watch’ series), you will know that I find it incredibly disrespectful to the electorate when an MP fails to turn up for a lot of votes. You could argue that some are not important to a given constituency, but a lot are and voting is a key part of the job you were elected to do.
Skinner’s attendance record is absolutely astounding. In fact, it’s one of the best I’ve seen in the House of Commons. He’s not in a constituency that’s next door to Westminster either. Since the general election, he has only missed 14 votes. In that same period, Gordon Brown has missed 250. Yes, Brown has more activities, but few are job-related.
It’s worth noting that he isn’t (as far as I know) on any committees or All-Party Parliamentary Groups, which gives him more time to attend these votes. However, the data above is still impressive.
He is known to be particluarly liberal on certain issues. For example, on May 14th 2007 he voted against a motion entitled ‘Trident Replacement — Maintain nuclear deterrent beyond existing system‘ (the majority voted ‘yes’). He has also voted for a a number of Bills and Amendments that promote equal rights for homosexuals.
He doesn’t accept compromise though. As I have already mentioned, he does not support the House of Lords. However, he voted against a wholly elected second chamber.
Expenses and financial interests
This is another astounding thing about Dennis Skinner. When it comes to financial records and affiliations, his record is spotless. As you will note from the Register of Financial Interests, there are no entries for him. As for expenses, most of the money is rent (you will note several high value claims related to a Greater London Property Management firm), food and everyday bills. He does spend more than a small amount of money at Johnsons Dry Cleaners in Chelsea, but that is not unexpected for the job that he has.
Considering all the controversy that many MPs have experienced in this area, it seems that Skinner is one of the few that has stuck to his priciples consistently.
Summary and Conclusion
I used to have a negative opinion of Dennis Skinner. I heard his utterances in the Commons and felt that he was out of touch with modern-day politics. Now that I have learned a bit more about his record and frankly astonishing consistency, I have changed my view, but not completely. He is reflective of the disenchanted members of the public, but it’s those people who (more than likely) don’t vote. His refusal to participate in policy groups and committees (as well as other political debates) often means he has very little effect on the issues he clearly cares so much about.
So, what do you think?