Hopes of blocking landlords from evicting tenants who complain about problems in their home were dashed today — after a Tory MP used an hour-long speech to ‘talk out’ the Tenancies (Reform) Bill. Protections against retaliatory eviction now stand little chance of becoming law, despite enjoying cross-party and government support.

As declared in the debate, the register of members’ interests for hard-right crackpot Philip Davies reveals that he himself owns a rented flat in the capital:

8. Land and Property

Flat in London from which rental income is received. (Registered 18 September 2012)

Having endured an hour of Davies’ drivel — designed purely to block the passage of bill — shouts of “outrageous” resounded across the chamber when the Shipley MP suggested the deputy speaker was biased in invoking an obscure parliamentary procedure to obligate him to conclude his speech:

An exasperated parliamentary source told Scrapbook:

“Fridays in parliament are becoming a complete joke. They’re dominated by a right-wing clique of MPs who will filibuster anything which isn’t the Margaret Thatcher Day Bill“

With a majority of nearly 10,000, however, we won’t be seeing the back of Davies any time soon.