Mps Death Cuts Majors Majority To 1

As Tory MPs continued to squabble over the best way to improve classroom discipline, Porters death provided a reminder of the perilous position of John Majors government.

Porters death reduces Majors Commons majority to one, but it now seems almost certain that his majority will disappear altogether early next year.

Labour is well placed to win the by-election in Porters prosperous Wirral South seat in Cheshire, and it seems certain to hold Barnsley East, a seat left vacant by the death of the Labour MP Terry Patchett.

A Labour victory in both seats would leave the Conservatives in a minority position in parliament, and reliant on the support of other parties particularly the Ulster Unionists to remain in power.

 

Last week Tony Blair, the Labour leader, told shadow cabinet colleagues he believed Major would be forced to go to the polls before his favoured date of May 1, because of his shrinking majority.

Porter held his seat with a majority of 8,183 over Labour at the last general election. Tory party officials said that February was the most likely date for a by-election.

Some Tory Central Office officials believe it would be better to hold the by-election before Christmas, rather than giving Labour the opportunity for a significant propaganda victory nearer to the general election.

Writs for by-elections have to be moved within three months of the death of an MP.

Major intends to see through the measures included in the Queens Speech before calling a general election, and will be well aware that Lord Callaghan, Britains last Labour prime minister, ran a minority government for three years between 1976-79.

However, a shrinking majority does hold risks for Major on key votes where he cannot count on the support of Unionists.

On Sunday, Tory MPs made it clear they intended to exploit the governments small majority by continuing to pressure ministers to adopt a tougher line on issues on the new moral agenda, including classroom discipline.

James Pawsey, chairman of the Tory backbench education committee, predicted that the head of steam building up behind the campaign to re-introduce the cane to Britains schools could force Mr Major to rethink his position on the issue.Another Tory MP, Mr David Shaw, said he would table an amendment to the governments education bill calling for an enforceable dress code for teachers. Ministers said that neither caning nor a staffroom dress code would be included in the bill. The row over caning - in which Mr Major and Mrs Gillian Shephard, the education and employment secretary , openly disagreed on government policy - has been symptomatic of the Tories fumbling start to the new political year. The debate over the funding of political parties intensified yesterday when Lord Beaverbrook, the former Tory treasurer, said parties should be funded by the state, George Parker writes. Lord Beaverbrook, who is thought to have raised