Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Religious Hate Bill Defeated
By a single vote the religious hatred bill was defeated in the House of Commons yesterday. (see how MPs voted) Realising Blair himself was absent, as well as at least 16 Scottish MPs being allowed to stay away by the Chief Whip to campaign in the Dumferline and Fife West by-election, its clear just what a cock-up this was for the government.
Through the government's incompetence, this intolerant, illiberal and unBritish piece of legislation may now hopefully be left in the dustbin of history. But perhaps more interestingly - will this defeat also spell a crushing blow for the prime ministers reforms in other areas, namely education?
After a defeat on anti-terror measures and now on this bill, rebellion brewing against ID Cards, a cabinet in chaos over the smoking ban, and a deputy PM openly disagreeing with Blair on education reform - what can now be left for Tony Blair? Will it end up being curtains for him sooner rather than later?
Through the government's incompetence, this intolerant, illiberal and unBritish piece of legislation may now hopefully be left in the dustbin of history. But perhaps more interestingly - will this defeat also spell a crushing blow for the prime ministers reforms in other areas, namely education?
After a defeat on anti-terror measures and now on this bill, rebellion brewing against ID Cards, a cabinet in chaos over the smoking ban, and a deputy PM openly disagreeing with Blair on education reform - what can now be left for Tony Blair? Will it end up being curtains for him sooner rather than later?
# posted by Chris Hughes @ 7:21 pm 
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Cheers for the link!
Great quote
Francis Bargle defended Tony Blair’s absence from the crucial vote. “Basically,” Bargle explained, “We cocked up and said it was OK for him to nip off as long as he was back in time for the triumphant press conference. In retrospect, perhaps we shouldn’t have relied on the Tories to vote the same way Labour did, but they certainly seem to be doing under this new Cameron chap.”
It was also nice to see that Scottish MP’s were also absent hence a bit of revenge for all the times that they've managed to twist and change the results of legislation.
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Great quote
Francis Bargle defended Tony Blair’s absence from the crucial vote. “Basically,” Bargle explained, “We cocked up and said it was OK for him to nip off as long as he was back in time for the triumphant press conference. In retrospect, perhaps we shouldn’t have relied on the Tories to vote the same way Labour did, but they certainly seem to be doing under this new Cameron chap.”
It was also nice to see that Scottish MP’s were also absent hence a bit of revenge for all the times that they've managed to twist and change the results of legislation.
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