THE House of Commons voted yesterday not to suspend Conservative MP Owen Paterson after he was judged to have broken lobbying rules set out by the Standards Committee.

Dame Andrea Leadsom tabled an amendment which was passed with a majority of 18.

As a result, there will be a new committee set up to examine parliamentary standards.

The controversial move has attracted criticism for the Conservative Party, with some saying that this will pave the way for corruption.

The new committee is proposed to be chaired by former minister John Whittingdale, a prominent Brexiteer and close friend to the prime minister's wife, Carrie Johnson.

This proposal will also have a Tory majority, instead of being independent.

However, there has been a comment from Jacob Rees-Mogg suggesting that the new committee would instead be formed with cross-party input.

The current system is chaired by Labour MP Chris Bryant and consists of one other Labour MP, four Conservative MPs, one SNP MP and seven lay members.

Mr Paterson was found by the previous committee to have repeatedly broken the rules on lobbying after a two-year investigation.

He was handed a 30 day suspension, which has now been put on hold following the vote.

How your MP voted

Gwent MPs overwhelmingly voted against the amendment, with the vast majority of them belonging to the Labout Party.

Only one Gwent MP voted in favour of the amendment, Monmouth MP and Conservative David TC Davies.

Here is a list of how the Gwent MPs voted:

In favour:

  • David TC Davies, Monmouth, Conservatives.

Against:

  • Wayne David, Caerphilly, Labour
  • Chris Evans, Islywyn Labour
  • Ruth Jones, Newport West, Labour
  • Jessica Morden, Newport East, Labour
  • Nick Smith, Blaenau Gwent, Labour
  • Nick Thomas-Symonds, Torfaen, Labour

No Gwent MP abstained from voting.

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