Laura Pidcock: I will work with Tory MPs, but I refuse to do backroom deals with them
2 min read
A pro-Jeremy Corbyn Labour MP who sparked fury by calling Conservatives "the enemy" has said she will work with Tory MPs if it will help her constituents.
But Laura Pidcock insisted that having "private backroom conversations" should not be part of the democratic process.
Speaking to the left-wing Skwawkbox website last month, the newly-elected MP for North West Durham said she had a “visceral” dislike of Conservatives.
She said: "Whatever type they are, I have absolutely no intention of being friends with any of them. I have friends I choose to spend time with. I go to Parliament to be a mouthpiece for my constituents and class – I’m not interested in chatting on."
Appearing on the BBC's 5Live Daily radio programme today, Ms Pidcock softened her stance slightly by saying she "will look for any opportunity with Tory MPs to get things done for my constituency".
She said: "I sit on all-party parliamentary groups, I'm perfectly civil, I'm nice, I'm friendly. But the idea that to actually get things done you've got to have these private background conversations, you've got to go to the Strangers' Bar and fraternise - that's not a democratic process."
Watch her comments here:
Asked who her favourite Tory MP was, Ms Pidcock said: "I don't really know many of their names. My least favourite is Jacob Rees-Mogg."
The interview came shortly after Mr Rees-Mogg told Good Morning Britain that he was opposed to abortion in all circumstances, including rape.
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