Parliament feels rather quiet at the moment, and it’s not just because there are no longer constant knife-edge votes on Brexit. One of the reasons there is less bustle is that select committees aren’t currently meeting, because they need to be re-elected at the start of the new parliament. There are quite a few vacancies, as well as committees where there is a chair still in parliament but a chance someone else could contest the spot.
Tory MPs are jostling to head up the Transport Select Committee, not least because this policy area will be such a big part of the work the new Conservative majority government does over the next few years. There are big decisions coming up on the Northern Rail franchise, for instance. Tom Tugendhat is fighting off challenges from a couple of colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee, though he has also turned noticeably loyal after the election, so might perhaps be hedging his bets and hoping for a ministerial post in the reshuffle.
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