The spineless, intellectually-challenged, amoral pygmies stinking up the Commons

There was I, labouring under the misapprehension that Tory MPs might vote against Nick Clegg’s proposals to reform the House of Lords because the plans were silly, misguided, irrelevant and constituted a malicious assault on this country’s system of governance by a ridiculous tit of a failed politician who is the leader of a party which is in power despite commanding less than 10% of the national vote and whose political career smells strongly of burnt toast.

But no – apparently Tory backbenchers, despite belonging to a party with the word “conservative” in its title, would have been quite prepared to go along with the destruction of cenutries of political tradition because, in a recent Commons vote,  the Libdems failed to support Jeremy Hunt, a deeply tarnished Coalition minister who should have resigned weeks ago over his dreadful mishandling of News International’s planned takeover of BSkyB.

Here’s Tory MP Eleanor Laing: “I have not voted against my party or its leader for 15 years…. But many of us are now examining our consciences about how we can support these ill-thought through proposals to reform our whole parliamentary system… Why are we supposed to bend over backwards to support Nick Clegg’s over something that only matters to Lib Dems when his party cannot support a fellow minister who has done nothing wrong?”

Tracey Crouch, another Tory MP, who, to be fair, said she had always intended to vote against the proposals, had this to say: “I have been very struck by how many colleagues in the party now feel liberated by the way the Liberals voted on Jeremy Hunt and now are ready to vote against the Government’s Lords Reform Bill.”

I’m not quite sure what Ms Laing means by the word “conscience” here, given the implication that she and many of her colleagues would have been happy to nod through proposals they considered harmful if only Libdem MPs had supported the egregious Hunt. Of course, their vote on these wrecking “reforms” should have had nothing whatsoever to do with Clegg’s abysmal crew – no matter how petty and disloyal and vindictive their behaviour towards their Tory coalition partners has been. Obviously, it’s up to MPs to reconcile their political beliefs, loyalty to the party without which they would never have become MPs, and the wishes of their constituents (Coo-eee! Remember us? We’re those annoying people you have to suck up to every few years, but who you seem to feel you can safely ignore in between).

It’s just a pity these right-wing backbenchers haven't allowed their conscience to be “liberated” by their own party leadership’s betrayal of all Conservative principles, their own fundamental political beliefs, and the fact that the vast mass of their constituents can’t see any need whatsoever for reforming the Upper House.

I despise the current Tory leadership, which has betrayed Conservative MPs and the people who voted for them. I loathe the Libdems. I would be relieved to see House of Lords reform plans defeated. I hope Tory backbenchers revolt against the proposals en masse. But for an MP to vote against their own government’s plans in a fit of pique because their coalition partners have got right up his or her nose – and then to claim this has anything that you’re acting on principle rather than because of a desire for revenge - strikes me as both illogical and extraordinarily petty.

Is it just me, or are there an awful lot of spineless, intellectually-challenged, amoral pygmies involved in politics these days?