TWO County Durham MPs came head to head in the Commons this week when a group of rebellious backbenchers successfully voted to reject plans to sack two senior Labour critics from the chairmanships of influential select committees.
The sackings had been carried out by Labour chief whip and Durham North-West MP Hilary Armstrong - and one of the dozen North-East MPs who voted against the move was Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster.
The MPs had been given a free vote, but the outcome was still seen as a slap in the face for Ms Armstrong, who masterminded last week's controversial sackings. She has only been Government Chief Whip since Labour's election victory in June.
Mr Foster, himself a former Labour Chief Whip, said: "It is very gratifying news. I didn't think that it had a cat in hell's chance of being defeated."
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