With today’s third reading in the House of Lords, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill passed its hurdles in their Lordships House to pass into law. The final hurdle is not quite here but should not be too long. All … Continue reading Equal Marriage Bill passes the Lords – society has matured and will do so again.
Following this afternoon’s vote in the debate on the third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, Christopher Lovell has expressed his disappointment at Tim Farron’s “abstention” today. It seems that Mr Lovell who lives in Leeds, not in Tim’s constituency, feels that because there is no vote recorded by Tim Farron in today’s debate, Tim abstained. I counter that this is not true. Tim did in fact, quite clearly not vote. It has been suggested by Erskine May that there is a procedure in Parliament to register an abstention: voting in both lobbies (Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, 23rd edition, 2004, p412).
A House of Commons Briefing Paper, Divisions in the House of Commons, SN/PC/06401 states
If fewer than 40 Members, including the Speaker and the tellers, participate in a division, it does not meet the quorum required. The House then moves on to the next business, and the subject of the division is postponed until the next sitting day. Members who wish to defeat a particular item of business may engineer a division and then stay out of the lobbies, as they can thus render the division inquorate. Continue reading “Disappointed with Tim Farron or Naomi Long? I’m not…”
Michael suggests that with just under 3 months to go until the centenary of 1 and 2 Geo. 5, c.13, HM Government should get on with the reform of the Upper House of Parliament as it really is about time we got round to it. Continue reading it really is about time we got round to it
There are many reasons being given in many places across the internet and print media why the British voter should not be voting Yes in the Referendum on the Voting System for the members of the House of Commons. However, one of them today caught my eye. On the Telegraph website, Daniel Hannan, has stated that AV IS EXPENSIVE Under AV we won’t be able to count ballot papers by hand on election night if we want a quick, decisive election result. Local councils will have to purchase electronic counting machines that are very expensive and prone to malfunction. However, … Continue reading Expensive counting machines necessary: bunkum!
On another Lib Dem blog we read that
Today’s tuition fee vote is a milestone for the Liberal Democrat party. It is the first time the party has had to seriously consider the wisdom of a policy designed for permanent opposition from the perspective of government. Continue reading “The 27 betrayed their Party – Shame on them!”
Last year, a fundamental change in the British judiciary occured on this day. For after centuries of being the final court of appeal in England (and the rest of the United Kingdom as it was annexed united to England, the House of Lords ceased to function in this way. During the fifty-fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Constitutional Reform Act 2008 (c.4) was passed. This created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Sadly this sounds very American to my British ears. There didn’t really seem very much wrong with the old system, but we have to get on … Continue reading one year on: let’s think of the judiciary
Gyronny Herald 