It is tempting to blog on how the conventions in the Companion are being ripped up by the Government by not allowing time between the committee and report stages of the Parliamentary Bill. But I suspect interest in that legislative marathon is waning. As we wait and see whether a credible deal will be done…
A most welcome statement from Lord Strathclyde an hour ago means we now know that the mammoth committee stage will be concluded on Thursday without more late nights. It seems like some sort of deal has been done. All will be revealed in Government amendments that we’ll debate next week. Sanity. At last.
According to the Government’s briefing, we are expecting a guillotine motion to be tabled tonight for voting tomorrow. This will determine whether or not the remaining debate on the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill will be brought to an end. This would be a massive step for the Lords. I may not have been…
It is 1.50am. I am in my Lords office waiting to speak to my amendment to the Parliamentary Voting and Constituencies Bill which tries to link the decision on the number of MPs with the number of Lords. This is my own attempt to get some big picture coherence on constitutional reform. The signs are…
So that was that. After suffering a massive defeat on the Public Bodies Bill at 5pm (by 122), the Government comfortably won the vote on pushing through their tuition fee policy. As in the Commons the Tories couldn’t have done it without the Libdems, and the public are right to feel some anger at them…
