A Tory bid to launch a new national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal has been voted down by MPs amid criticism of “political game playing”.
MPs rejected the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing Bill by 364 to 111, a majority of 253.
However, even if the Commons had supported the measure, it wouldn’t have actually forced the government to open the desired inquiry, due to parliamentary procedure.
Instead, it would have killed the government’s legislation, the aim of which is to reform things like the children’s care system and raise educational standards in schools.
Follow politics latest: Reaction to vote
Tonight’s vote was largely symbolic – aimed at putting pressure on Labour following days of headlines after comments by Elon Musk brought grooming gangs back into the spotlight.
The world’s richest man has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, after she rejected a new national inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham, saying this should be done at a local level instead.
The Tories also previously said an Oldham inquiry should be done locally and in 2015 commissioned a seven-year national inquiry into child sex abuse, led by Professor Alexis Jay, which looked at grooming gangs.
However, they didn’t implement any of its recommendations while in office – and Sir Keir has vowed to do so instead of launching a fresh investigation into the subject.
Jess Phillips exclusive:
Victims can have inquiry if they want one
The division list showed no Labour MPs voted in favour of the Conservative amendment.
Those who backed the proposal include all of Reform’s five MPs and 101 Tory MPs – though some senior figures, including former prime minister Rishi Sunak and former home secretaries James Cleverly and Suella Braverman, were recorded as not voting.
The Liberal Democrats abstained.
Playing politics is what opposition parties do – but not all Tories got the memo
Sir Keir Starmer was “disgusting” and Labour MPs were guilty of “cowardice”, according to Chris Philp after the Tories’ crushing 364-111 defeat on a new probe into what he called “the rape gangs scandal”.
But did all Conservative MPs share the shadow home secretary’s zeal in demanding an inquiry? Not all, it would appear. And there were also some big-name absentees who didn’t vote for the Tory amendment.
One notable abstainer was Simon Hoare, the North Dorset MP and One Nation stalwart who has consistently cautioned against his party’s more vulgar populism and knee-jerk reactions to controversial issues.
In the Commons on Monday, during exchanges on a Yvette Cooper statement on child sexual exploitation and abuse, Mr Hoare told MPs: “I think the Home Secretary is right that the public want to see action now.”
And, signalling that he was unhappy with his party’s demands for a new inquiry, Mr Hoare added: “Frankly, I remain unconvinced that a new public inquiry will throw any new light or information on this issue.”
But the cerebral Mr Hoare wasn’t the only notable name among the 16 Conservatives who didn’t vote. Somewhat surprisingly, they included two former Tory home secretaries, Suella Braverman and James Cleverly.
Ms Braverman later clarified that due to “a very important constituency engagement” she was paired for the vote – an arrangement between two MPs of opposing parties that allows them both to be absent.
No surprise, perhaps, that Rishi Sunak was missing. But so too were current shadow cabinet members Stuart Andrew, Richard Fuller and Andrew Bowie and two former attorney generals, Sir Geoffrey Cox and Sir Jeremy Wright.
The 111 MPs backing the Tory amendment included 101 Conservatives, the five Reform UK MPs, two Democratic Unionists, Jim Shannon and Sammy Wilson, and three other Ulster MPs, Jim Allister, Robin Swann and Alex Easton.
Sir Ed Davey’s 72 Lib Dem MPs abstained, prompting the Tories’ shadow equalities minister Mims Davies to declare: “Every time the Liberal Democrats have the opportunity to stop Labour, they simply prefer to sit on their hands.”
But Labour hit back at the Tories, highlighting measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to protect vulnerable children. “Clearly playing politics trumps safeguarding children on the Conservatives’ list of priorities,” said a spokesperson.
To be fair, playing politics is what opposition parties do, though Labour also accused Kemi Badenoch of political opportunism, which is also what opposition parties do. But perhaps not all Conservative MPs got the memo.
Speaking to Sophy Ridge on the Politics Hub before the vote, education minister Stephen Morgan condemned “political game playing”.
“What we’re seeing from the Conservatives is a wrecking amendment which would basically allow this bill not to go any further,” he said.
“That’s political game playing and not what I think victims want. Victims want to see meaningful change.”
As well as the Jay review, a number of local inquiries were also carried out, including in Telford and Rotherham.
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Grooming gangs: What happened?
Speaking earlier in the day at PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer accused Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of “jumping on the bandwagon” after Mr Musk’s intervention, and of spreading “lies and misinformation”.
Referring to her time in government as children’s and equalities minister, the prime minister said: “I can’t recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry.”
He also said having spoken to victims of grooming gangs this morning, “they were clear they want action now, not the delay of a further inquiry”.
Ms Badenoch has argued that the public will start to “worry about a cover-up” if the prime minister resists calls for a national inquiry, and said no one has yet “joined up the dots” on grooming.
Girls as young as 11 were groomed and raped across a number of towns in England – including Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford – over a decade ago in a national scandal that was exposed in 2013.
