The right wing culture warrior is being investigated for "actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its Members generally"
Tory MP Miriam Cates is under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog, it was revealed today. The parliament website has listed an investigation into Cates under the 2019 code of conduct for MPs.
The matter under investigation by the watchdog is listed as “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its Members generally”. No details of what actions are being investigated have been published.
Cates is a leading figure on the Tory right, known for her championing of socially conservative positions on culture war issues. She co-founded the ‘New Conservatives’ – a group of Tory MPs that takes an hostile position to issues such as migration and LGBT inclusion.
The New Conservatives Group has called for numerical limits on refugee resettlement in the UK, a cap on the amount of social housing that can be given to non-UK nationals and an end to visas for care workers. Alongside this, the group has called for ‘gender ideology’ to be banned in schools and for parents to oversee sex education. ‘Gender ideology’ is an ill-defined term which is often used by the right to refer to measures which seek to deliver inclusion for transgender people.
Cates has taken similar positions to these in her public campaigning. In the House of Commons in 2021, she suggested that LGBT charities such as Stonewall being invited into schools was “a very dangerous potential safeguarding issue” and that they taught “dangerous and contested extreme ideologies”. She has also campaigned against a ban on trans conversion therapy and described ‘uncontrolled mass migration’ as ‘possibly the most serious security threat of our time’.
Cates was first elected at the 2019 general election, winning her seat from Labour. Her majority is just over 7,000.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: UK Parliament – Creative Commons
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.