Bob Blackman.

Blackman's two most striking recent moves cut in opposite directions from Conservative orthodoxy. He twice defied his party to back the Tobacco and Vapes Bill — voting for the generational smoking ban at both Second and Third Reading when most Conservatives opposed it. He also drew significant controversy in May 2025 when Middle East Eye reported he had shared posts celebrating Indian military strikes that killed civilians in Pakistan, prompting sharp criticism of his judgment given his role as a senior backbencher; he has also been vocal in defending Harrow's Indian-heritage community against discrimination, calling a US report on anti-Indian hate online "deeply concerning."

At 76% voting participation, Blackman sits modestly below the Commons average, though his 99.3% party-line rate makes the tobacco votes notable exceptions. His stance profile is predictably right-of-centre: he votes consistently against workers' rights legislation, progressive taxation, and climate measures, and backs business, Lords scrutiny, and tougher criminal justice. His speeches — spanning 329 contributions across 258 debates — concentrate heavily on defence, the economy, and local government. He chairs the Backbench Business Committee, which controls which non-government debates reach the Commons floor, and sits on both the Administration and Liaison Committees.

Two things give his record its distinctive texture. First, his constituency — heavily Hindu and South Asian — clearly shapes his parliamentary focus: he has spent years lobbying for tube station accessibility improvements and frequently raises India-related foreign policy questions. Second, his deviations from party average show he is less supportive of Lords reform, assisted dying, and civil liberties than the typical Conservative MP, while being slightly more open to some Lords amendments than colleagues. Voting data covers the current parliament; detailed local news sentiment data for the past 90 days is limited.