Post by Patrick Torsney on Sept 20, 2011 10:42:55 GMT 1
House of Lords, September 14th 2011
To my mind, this video represents a pivotal moment in the manner in which Bills are dealt with by the present Parliament
We’ve already seen the outrageous manner in which the Government has dealt with the Committee stages of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) and, let’s not forget them also ignoring some 5,000 responses to the earlier consultation
Here the Welfare Reform Bill is at its Second Reading in the House of Lords. A motion is always moved after Second Reading to commit a Bill to a particular type of Committee. This is generally decided through the “usual channels”, although the motion can be voted upon and the final decision is for the House
The problem I have with this is that the “usual channels” basically means that the Lords work together and come up with some agreement on how and in what manner a Bill will be debated. Most importantly, how long the Bill will have on the floor of the Main House. This is a good thing!
However, the Government decided in respect of the Welfare Reform Bill not to continue pursuing agreement with the Whole House (and even those within their own ranks who agreed that the Bill deserved more time in the Lords). Instead, they decided not to continue with using the usual channels at all and instead pressed a motion that the Bill be sent to Grand Committee instead. This then pushed the issue to the vote
My own thinking - and feel free to call me cynical - is that I think it is pretty clear they would always win such a vote, not least given Cameron’s massive influx of Tory peers of late
Well, whether you agree with me or not, I do have serious concerns about the Welfare Reform Bill being hived off to one of the smaller committee rooms. It isn’t just the access issues either, although these are significant given that the space available is significantly smaller and will also present challenges for disabled people or others with mobility difficulties
The important point I should mention here is that proceedings in Grand Committee are identical to those in a Committee of the whole House except that no votes take place – decisions to alter the Bill may only be made with unanimity. Thus when a Question is put, a single voice against an amendment causes the amendment to be negatived and amendments can only be made by general agreement
So, the footage here represents what I think is actually a very important moment, not just for the Welfare Reform Bill, but also for other Bills moving through the Houses - especially the forthcoming LASPO Bill
My guess is that the Government will once again, as soon as LASPO gets to Second Reading in the Lords, move that it be consigned to Grand Committee, thereby reducing the ability for Lords to be successful in gaining amendments, reducing exposure via media and press, reducing significantly the right of the public to be present whilst the Bill is discussed, and so on
As one of the Peers says in the clip above, the way the Government deals with what is probably the most controversial piece of legislation that has passed through the House in decades is tantamount to them seeking to regulate the House of Lords
I hope you get time to watch the full clip. There are actually some very moving speeches in there that are well worth viewing in full. As I tweeted when it was live, history was being made that day. The problem was, it wasn’t something I think we should be proud of
To my mind, this video represents a pivotal moment in the manner in which Bills are dealt with by the present Parliament
We’ve already seen the outrageous manner in which the Government has dealt with the Committee stages of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) and, let’s not forget them also ignoring some 5,000 responses to the earlier consultation
Here the Welfare Reform Bill is at its Second Reading in the House of Lords. A motion is always moved after Second Reading to commit a Bill to a particular type of Committee. This is generally decided through the “usual channels”, although the motion can be voted upon and the final decision is for the House
The problem I have with this is that the “usual channels” basically means that the Lords work together and come up with some agreement on how and in what manner a Bill will be debated. Most importantly, how long the Bill will have on the floor of the Main House. This is a good thing!
However, the Government decided in respect of the Welfare Reform Bill not to continue pursuing agreement with the Whole House (and even those within their own ranks who agreed that the Bill deserved more time in the Lords). Instead, they decided not to continue with using the usual channels at all and instead pressed a motion that the Bill be sent to Grand Committee instead. This then pushed the issue to the vote
My own thinking - and feel free to call me cynical - is that I think it is pretty clear they would always win such a vote, not least given Cameron’s massive influx of Tory peers of late
Well, whether you agree with me or not, I do have serious concerns about the Welfare Reform Bill being hived off to one of the smaller committee rooms. It isn’t just the access issues either, although these are significant given that the space available is significantly smaller and will also present challenges for disabled people or others with mobility difficulties
The important point I should mention here is that proceedings in Grand Committee are identical to those in a Committee of the whole House except that no votes take place – decisions to alter the Bill may only be made with unanimity. Thus when a Question is put, a single voice against an amendment causes the amendment to be negatived and amendments can only be made by general agreement
So, the footage here represents what I think is actually a very important moment, not just for the Welfare Reform Bill, but also for other Bills moving through the Houses - especially the forthcoming LASPO Bill
My guess is that the Government will once again, as soon as LASPO gets to Second Reading in the Lords, move that it be consigned to Grand Committee, thereby reducing the ability for Lords to be successful in gaining amendments, reducing exposure via media and press, reducing significantly the right of the public to be present whilst the Bill is discussed, and so on
As one of the Peers says in the clip above, the way the Government deals with what is probably the most controversial piece of legislation that has passed through the House in decades is tantamount to them seeking to regulate the House of Lords
I hope you get time to watch the full clip. There are actually some very moving speeches in there that are well worth viewing in full. As I tweeted when it was live, history was being made that day. The problem was, it wasn’t something I think we should be proud of