Tom Richmond: The out of order Minister who showed contempt for Sheffield job losses

I accept that Ministers have to take tough decisions – their job is a thankless one when the public finances are so tight – and I’m still surprised they’ve not considered abolishing the so-called “Bis” department with its £25bn a year budget when its work overlaps with the Treasury and the Department for Education and Skills. After all, the whole Government machine should be pro-business.

What I will not accept – or ignore – was the insensitive response of Anna Soubry, the Small Business Minister, when summonsed to attend the House of Commons to answer a quite legitimate question from Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh about the proposed closure of the St Paul’s Place office at a time when the Government is committed, publicly, to empowering the North and moving civil servants out of London. It was so bad that the Speaker even accused the Minister of lacking “basic dignity”, a quite unprecedented rebuke.

Clearly inconvenienced and irked at having to make a Ministerial statement last Friday, an already irritable Ms Soubry became even more agitated when the Yorkshire backbencher asked: “Sheffield has already lost 500 jobs at HMRC, 100 jobs at Forgemasters and 400 jobs at the local authority. People in my city will be right to ask: why have the Tories got it in for Sheffield?”

The reply? Ms Soubry, who represents a Nottinghamshire seat, said she grew up 17 miles from Sheffield and would not accept lectures from the Opposition before saying that the Government was clearing up Labour’s “mess” and that it was “very sad, and somewhat shameful” for Ms Haigh to have the temerity to criticise the Northern Powerhouse.

Really? The Tories have now been in office for nearly six years and I thought it was the duty of all MPs to stand up for their constituents and challenge Ministers. I’m obviously mistaken.

Worse was to come. When Labour front-bencher Gordon Marsden set out his case that the charmless Ms Soubry had not done enough to save the South Yorkshire and UK steel industry, he was soon heckled by the Minister.

I’m not usually a fan of John Bercow, but the Speaker’s withering admonishment of Ms Soubry deserves a wider airing: “This speech will be heard — [Interruption]. Order! Minister, you have had your say, and you will have further says. There is something here about a basic dignity. Just sit and listen. It is not about you; it is about the issue. It is not about the hon. Gentleman either. Be quiet and listen. That is the end of it. It is not a request; it is an instruction.”

The Minister’s response? “Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is not about me; it is not. It is about the workers,” said Ms Soubry before complaining that there was not sufficient time to answer every question posed by her opposite number.

Yet, when St Helens North MP Conor McGinn joined the fray, a bombastic Ms Soubry had the brass-neck to say: “I am sorry, Mr Speaker, but there was no question there. The hon. Gentleman made a speech. It was not accurate and it was rubbish.”

After being ruled out of order – the Speaker had to remind the Minister that he was “the arbiter of good order. I handle those matters, and I certainly do not require any advice from a junior Minister” – Ms Soubry tried the same tactic when Robert Jenrick, the Conservative MP for Newark, lamented the job losses. Again the Speaker ruled against the aggrieved Ms Soubry. And so it went on for 18 embarrassing and excruciating minutes with the Minister showing little empathy or sympathy for the staff concerned.

Like the out of her depth Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss, this is another one of the Prime Minister’s so-called “Cameron cuties”, fast-tracked for promotion because David Cameron had insufficient women on his front bench.

Yet the consequences are far more profound than a debate about whether politicians should be appointed on merit. As the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, Ms Soubry is entitled to attend Cabinet. She should be speaking up for regions like Yorkshire rather than running them down.

As the Commons exchanges revealed, Ms Soubry’s brief includes manufacturing and, frankly, she has made negligible progress on safeguarding the UK steel industry after Redcar’s plant shut last Autumn.

And, as a committed EU enthusiast, Ms Soubry expects be at the vanguard of the campaign to persuade voters to preserve the UK’s membership of the European Union. I suggest she takes a vow of silence if she wishes to help her cause.

Anna Soubry has form. She has a reputation for being one of the more boorish MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions, has few stateswoman-like qualities and clearly could not defend the Sheffield decision without resorting to personal insults. But if she can’t answer questions respectfully about this Government choosing to put the jobs of civil servants in London before their counterparts here, she cannot hope to be taken seriously. And nor, too, does the Northern Powerhouse after an insulting – and unforgivable – performance which suggests the “Nasty Party” – Home Secretary Theresa May’s infamous description of the Tories – is well and truly back in business.

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