Crewe and Nantwich By-Election

In Parliament today, Labour Chief Whip Geoff Hoon moved the writ for the holding of the by-election in Crewe and Nantwich.

There was great debate as to whether this was showing undue haste, Gwyneth's funeral not yet having taken place.

In response, The Leader of the House of Commons (Ms Harriet Harman) is quoted in Hansard:
"I wish to raise two points in response to those that have been made. The first is about the wishes of the family and the second is about the conventions of the House.

"I shall read to the House a statement from the family in respect of the late Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody. They said:
“We fully support the decision to begin the process of electing a new MP for Crewe and Nantwich. Our mother proudly represented this constituency for 34 years, and would not want to see local people go without an MP. She worked tirelessly for local people and recognised there was always more to do. She would want that job of work to continue, as quickly as possible.”

"It is a long-standing convention of the House that, when a party loses a member, it decides when to move the writ, which triggers the process that leads to the ensuing by-election.
Crewe and Nantwich has had a doughty advocate for 34 years and it needs a new Member of Parliament. I therefore invite the House to support the motion."

Again to quote Hansard:
Question put and agreed to.

If it's good enough for the Dunwoody family, then it's good enough for me.