Tories disappearing in Parliament

8.27.00am GMT Sun 10th Jan 2010

Research by Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart of Nottingham University has shown that the Parliamentary Conservative Party is, in terms of the work of scrutinising and opposing government legislation, fading away.

Cowley and Stuart say, "One of the most striking things about voting in the House of Commons over the last year has been how rarely the Conservatives have opposed Government legislation."

When they began their time in opposition in 1997 Michael Howard's gang were more active, opposing 41% of government legislation. During the 2001-2995 parliament the Tories opposed 32% and in the 2005-2009 session under David Cameron they've managed to oppose just 22%.

If that trend continued and if Labour won the next two elections then the Tory opposition would have effectively disappeared completely by about 2016. Like the Cheshire Cat, but with a grimace instead of a grin.