I am writing this tonight, from my Commons Office. Tonight is a historic night in the new Parliament. The Lords and Commons are 'ping-ponging' the Alternative Vote/Referendum Bill. This means that the Lords has disagreed with the Commons majority, the Bill has gone back to the Commons, amended by the Lords, voted on and then returned to the Lords. This will go on to & fro until agreement is reached and the Bill can then be given Royal Assent. At the moment the Commons Sitting is suspended as the Lords debate the Bill. After 1130, it will come back to the Commons. There will then be another vote..... and then, who knows!
It is a strange thing to be living history as it is made. Although I have reservations about this Bill - it is the price of coalition with the Liberal Democrats - I do believe that the unelected House of Lords should not be able to frustrate the will of the democratically elected MPs in the House of Commons. I am in favour of an elected House of Lords (at least a partially elected one), so as to address this democratic deficit.
P.S. It is bizarre to see Lord John Prescott, who opposed the Lords for many years, gladly cloak himself in red ermine, as soon as it was proffered. He is now the ring leader against the elected Commons. Napoleon in Animal Farm comes to mind.
by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com
But Robert, almost every Tory MP supports what the Lords are doing in insisting on a turnout threshold. Just as Tories have always supported turnout thresholds for every referendum before this one and just as they've always supported the right of the House of Lords to better reflect public opinion than be at the whim of party whips. You won't be waving your order paper when this eventually passes and the government got pasted in the debate in the House of Commons earlier. You're on the wrong side on this and as a keen reader of your blog, it's very rare I'd think that!
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