Wednesday 16 July 2014

Roll of Honour

Scroll down to the very bottom for the 33, plus their two tellers, who were still there at nearly 10 o'clock to vote against Third Reading of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill.

In the course of the day, there had been some disappointing fallings off since the Business Motion, since Second Reading, and since Tom Watson's amendment. The Liberal Democrats had almost all proved worse than useless.

Whereas there had been tellingly cross-community opposition from Northern Ireland, where they do rather understand the importance of real security. Although that, too, had almost gone by Third Reading, with Sammy Wilson changing sides completely.

There had also been a very high abstention rate all day. 

But these are the 35 who were there at the last. They make for an interesting spread, a veritable cross-section.

And even if they did not, then their names, many of them routinely ridiculed or ignored by the gatekeepers of public discourse, would nevertheless live on for evermore.

Diane Abbott, Peter Bone, Ronnie Campbell, Katie Clark, David Davis, Mark Durkan, Jonathan Edwards, John Hemming, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, Stewart Hosie, Eric Joyce, Ian Lavery, Mark Lazarowicz, Elfyn Llwyd, Naomi Long, Caroline Lucas, Angus MacNeil, Dr Alasdair McDonnell, Grahame Morris, George Mudie, Margaret Ritchie, Angus Robertson, Adrian Sanders, Jim Sheridan, Dennis Skinner, Andrew Turner, Tom Watson, Mike Weir, Dr Eilidh Whiteford, Hywel Williams, David Winnick, Pete Wishart, John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn.

In addition, Roger Godsiff and Anne Main voted against Second Reading and did not vote in favour of Third Reading. That first name, in particular, makes the spread even more interesting again. But again, that is not in itself the point.

37, all told.

Notably, it has to be recorded, they did not include the seat-taking MP, and these days the MP seat-taking or otherwise, whose communications are most probably being intercepted. He did not show up all day.

2 comments:

  1. No one watching the news would have known it was happening. Apart from RT, obviously. On that note you are right about Galloway? Where was his barnstorming speech? Very suspicious.

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    Replies
    1. RT asked me about it. I told them that yes, of course the reshuffle had been timed to distract attention from it. And it had worked.

      Alas, like the Hague legacy stuff, they did not have the time to fit it in, what with the Moscow Metro accident. But they have been covering this story. Unlike some.

      Now, it has been a long day. Goodnight.

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