It is quite extraordinary that the government was heavily defeated on Brexit in the House of Lords last night and yet almost none of the media have taken any note at all.
Reuters is an exception, noting that:
The House of Lords passed an amendment on Wednesday calling for the government to negotiate a customs union with the European Union, giving Prime Minister Theresa May a potential new headache in her Brexit plans.
The upper parliamentary chamber backed a cross-party amendment to a trade bill, calling for the government to take all steps to enable the United Kingdom to participate in a new EU customs union after it leaves the bloc.
The defeat was by more than 60 votes.
Now the Commons muster vote on the amendment: it finally has an option to reject May's proposals. In itself this is significant. Parliament may get a chance to, after all, take back control from an out of control, out of touch, and frankly crazed executive.
As a democrat I instintively have concerns about the continued existence of the House of Lords. And yet it continually proves its worth. It is an institution that has no right to exist in theory. There are moments when practice proves otherwise. This was one.
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Your last 2 paragraphs say it all Richard. What is so ridiculous is that the Lords is showing more sense and leadership than the executive or, shamefully, the Commons. MP’s had the chance to seize control of the legislative agenda several weeks ago but, as you blogged at the time, refused to do so, even though most MP’s know full well what a disaster Brexit is.
Despite the undemocratic nature of the Lords, it now seems to have a greater number of intelligent, principled members than the Commons. And as for the executive……..!
It certainly seems like that to me as well.
When you think about how the HoL is conceived as opposed to the HoP , it serves to undermine just how fallen from grace MPs have become.
This is a true indication – and one of many – that we are in a political crisis of great magnitude.
Climate breakdown trumps Brexit. Article 50 needs to be revoked by the current MPs. There is not time to fiddle around. The laws that we have, are a good enough basis from which to embark on giving our children a chance. The referendum was not decisive and in any case, in 2016 Nigel Farage advocated a re-run if UKIP lost. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36306681.
In general, our law makers do not recognise the overwhelming scientific evidence that all our attention needs to be on the environment. 2 March: “Methane in the atmosphere is surging, and that’s got scientists worried” The report includes ‘one ton of (methane) causes 32 times as much warming as one ton of CO2 over the course of a century.’
https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-methane-atmosphere-accelerating-20190301-story.html Equally MSM and business leaders virtually ignore the predicament of their (our) children.
5 March: “Climate breakdown is coming. The UK needs a Greener New Deal – Global economic growth is outstripping our green efforts. A cap must be put on consumption before it cripples us’
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/05/climate-breakdown-uk-greener-new-deal-cap-consumption?CMP=share_btn_link
As well as a state of emergency for the climate, there needs to be a determined public information campaign. Wartime slogans like: ‘Is your journey really necessary?’ come to mind. The UK started the Industrial Revolution — we have rails, roads, buildings and concrete all over the place. So our country should act whether or not others join in immediately.
Can our democracy do it? In the wars, my father and my uncles were required to risk their lives for our future. Surely we can rise to the challenge of our time.
I agree on both points. It is surely the clearest evidence that the elected chamber is, overall, completely out of touch with reality, when it is the unelected and democratically indefensible second chamber that has to talk some basic sense! One constitutional reality will become a shuddering certainty if, in spite of all these various strands of realist resistance (from the SNP/Plaid/Green alliance through a scattering of back-benchers to the fusty halls of the Upper House) do fail to stop the Brexit juggernaut…. the Westminster constituion is in total meltdown. The famous ‘unwritten’ piece of ‘English’ genius has crumbled – and we are left blinking in the ruins!
Nigel, knowing you to be in favour of Scottish independence, what effect do you think this Westminster debacle will have on the prospects for independence? Personally, I think it substantially increases them. Firstly, the contemptuous treatment of the SNP by this government, and the utter shambles of the whole Brexit process, is surely antagonising an ever increasing proportion of the Scots, and pushing those who were indifferent or hostile to independence towards being in favour of it.
Secondly, I see that some SNP activists have been urging Nicola Sturgeon to ignore the legal constraints against calling a second IndyRef, given the mess the UK is now in thanks to this government. Given the rapidly declining reputation of the UK government I think it a distinct possibility that ,in the not so distant future, an SNP government would declare UDI from Westminster. After all, the much vaunted reputation for British governments’ respect for the rule of law is being trashed almost daily now, so why should any other government respect it in relation to dealing with a UK government? Instances include:
– Said Javid’s withdrawal of Shamina Begum’s British citizenship in defiance of international law, purely to appeal to rabble rousing populism.
– The UK’s refusal to recognise international law in it’s response to the International Crminal Courts judgement re the Chagos Islands.
– The UK government’s attempt to renegociate the backstop part of the Withdrawal agreement, which it had itself signed up to in November because it allows itself to be held hostage by anti EU fanatics in the DUP and ERG.
Given all this, what standing will any future UK government have in the eyes of the rest of the world? I think that if a future SNP administration got a decisive vote for independence in a 2nd IndyRef which it called without waiting for any permission from the Westminster government, it could just declare UDI since Westminster’s authority will have receded so far by then.
The HoL, not being depedent on short term political calculations, can show reflection and distance from the mayhem around it, which matters all the more when like now, no one is able to lead anything resembling a functioning government or an effective Opposition in the Commons.
That’s where its role becomes valid, but how those Lords are chosen or appointed is totally undemocratic and should be abolished in my republican opinion. The process as it stands should be abolished, but a second Chamber, able to sit for much longer than a legislative term, should exist for balance of power.
Still, good job once again.
You wouldn’t be saying that on this site if RM got what he wanted and got a seat in the house of lords for services to the Labour party..good sources within the party suggest McDonnell put a stop to it
McDonnell and team suggested it
I declined
I made the right decision
A period of time spent working with the Houses of Parliament was a contradictory eye opener as others have commented. The quality of debate and atmosphere in the Lords was so much better than the Commons. Far less tribal and with deep expertise visible, despite the odd bigot – Tebbit and Lawson spring to mind.
To be fair, the quality of discussion in Commons committees is also way ahead of that in the Commons itself though much less visible to the public. Abolishing the Lords seems to be lower down the list in terms of the reforms we need to Parliament. I’d start with PR so people, MPs and voters, can belong to parties whose policies they really support rather than be force fitted in the current sacks of ferrets. Then moving to a modern debating chamber and getting rid of the current adversarial kids playground.