42 O’Clock and the Deal is Done
After all of the toing and froing, the fate of the Terrorism Bill appears settled.
The Government has agreed to introduce new legislation into a new Parliament that will include the scope to repeal the Bill that has been so painfully going through Parliament these last few days. This means that there will effectively be a “sunset” procedure whereby the legislation can be dropped if no longer necessary or acceptable to Parliament.
Liberal Democrats are still concerned about a key point of principle on the standard of proof that must be used to secure a control order. We wish to see a higher standard used than that proposed by the Government and may vote again in the Lords for an amendment making this change though it is unlikely we will win again if the Conservatives no longer support us.
Many members of both Houses are still unsure about aspects of the Bill but it is certainly a different beast from that which was initially introduced into Parliament. The pain has been worth it in terms of securing changes. It is a shame they had to be dragged out of the Government like pulling teeth.
My guess is that there will have to be new legislation repealing these provisions as they will not be found to work in practice. But that is for another day.
PS At about 27 O’Clock I found myself discussing the Parliamentary Ferret. This is not an animal that lives in the basement but the ribbon used to tie up a bundle of “messages” from the Lords. My guess that the derivation of this comes from the Latin word “to carry” was confirmed by the Clerks of the Commons at around 41 O’Clock. What a wonderful world of ribbons I inhabit – Ferret ribbons, sword ribbons, where will they end.
In a lot of ways. I’ll mostly be posting late this afternoon. The ‘Blair or Howard’ debate continues over at Tom’s. You’ll also want to read this: Chicken Yoghurt: Stop me before I kill again, pleads Straw And these: Honourable…
Thank you so much for the updates over the last day of 42, I hope it was as useful for you as for us out ‘ere.
I’m curious. Parliament’s ludicrous legislative mechanism seems faintly glamorous to me. Is it at all exciting when you’re a [protagonist|antagonist]? Does days like these make you happy or sad to be leaving Parliament?
I read all the posts about this bill in one sitting, and the process sounded quite dramatic. Thanks for taking the time to post and tell us what’s happening. Of all the political blogs I read, I find yours the best, both writing style and content.