GP Trounces Homeopathy-Supporting Rival In Election For Commons NHS Scrutiny Job

Meet The MPs That Have Bagged Parliament's Plum Jobs
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Sarah Wollaston has been returned as chair of the Health select committee of MPs
Peter Byrne/PA Wire

The results of the prestigious House of Commons select committee elections have been revealed – with the most eye-catching results including a GP-turned-MP convincingly beating her rival who backs alternative medicines on the NHS.

Sarah Wollaston, Tory MP for Totnes, has regained the chairmanship of the Health select committee after winning 532 votes from her parliamentary colleagues. David Tredinnick secured support from just 64 MPs.

This week Mr Tredinnick wrote on The Huffington Post UK how the NHS had to "look outside the box" and embrace homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture alongside "orthodox" medicines.

Echoing many critics, Dr Wollaston has criticised the lack of evidence to support alternative therapies and that they risk causing "serious harms" when "masquerading" as a vaccine.

Elsewhere, Labour MP Keith Vaz, one of Britain's best-known backbenchers, retained his grip of the high-profile Home Affairs select committee he has chaired for seven years.

The Culture, Media and Sport committee, which investigated phone hacking in the last parliament and called Rupert Murdoch to give evidence, will be chaired by Conservative Jesse Norman, a former ministerial aide who was sacked after abstaining from a vote on Syria.

Conservative MP Dr Julian Lewis, arguably Parliament's biggest supporter of the Trident nuclear deterrent, will lead the Defence committee, and Labour's Meg Hillier is to chair Public Accounts - the committee infamous for grilling Google and Amazon over tax avoidance.

As well as a bigger media profile chairmen get around £15,000 a year on top of their MPs' salary.

The winners are:

Backbench Business

Ian Mearns (Lab)

Business, Innovation & Skills

Iain Wright (Lab)

Culture, Media & Sport

Jesse Norman (Con)

Defence

Dr Julian Lewis (Con)

Education

Neil Carmichael (Con)

Environmental Audit

Huw Irranca-Davies (Lab)

Foreign Affairs

Crispin Blunt (Con)

Health

Dr Sarah Wollaston (Con)

Home Affairs

Keith Vaz (Lab)

International Development

Stephen Twigg (Lab)

Justice

Robert Neill (Con)

Petitions

Helen Jones (Lab)

Public Accounts

Meg Hillier (Lab)

Science and Technology

Nicola Blackwood (Con)

Work and Pensions

Frank Field (Lab)

A single nomination was put forward for twelve committees, meaning they were elected unopposed.

Communities & Local Government

Clive Betts (Lab)

Energy and Climate Change

Angus MacNeil (SNP)

Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Neil Parish (Con)

Northern Ireland Affairs

Laurence Robertson (Con)

Procedure

Charles Walker (Con)

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs

Bernard Jenkin (Con)

Scottish Affairs

Pete Wishart (SNP)

Standards

Kevin Barron (Lab)

Treasury

Andrew Tyrie (Con)

Transport

Louise Ellman (Lab)

Welsh Affairs

David T.C. Davies (Con)

Women and Equalities

Maria Miller (Con)