What if Ed Miliband does whip Labour MPs to vote against a referendum on same-sex "marriage"? That is a daft idea, anyway.
Like a referendum on EU membership, which is likewise never going to happen. It is by no means clear that tomorrow's amendment is even going to be called.
Like a referendum on EU membership, which is likewise never going to happen. It is by no means clear that tomorrow's amendment is even going to be called.
The wrong side would certainly win either of them. Thereby making it politically - not constitutionally, but politically - impossible for any future Government or Parliament to restore either traditional marriage or national sovereignty.
The restoration of national and parliamentary sovereignty could be a backbench initiative, but it really ought to be a Government one. Keep an eye on something like Labour Uncut, the website closest to the Whips' Office, and you will see that that is far more likely under a Labour Government than under a Conservative one.
The Party of Europe from everlasting will never, ever change. As we see at the moment. Of course there were divisions in and around the last Government over the EU. But they were managed better. Which is to say, they were managed at all.
Labour kept Britain out of the euro, it did not split or come anywhere close to doing so, it almost never even had a public row on the subject, and it has now been proved right as much to its internal dissidents as to everyone else. That did not make for late-night televisual entertainment. But it was the running of a serious country by serious people.
As for the restoration of traditional marriage, it would probably have to be a backbench initiative, but it is almost certain never to be necessary. This dog's dinner of a Bill will never reach the Statute Book. It is no longer about the principle. It is about the specific Bill. And whatever your view on the principle, read the specific Bill. It is as poorly drafted as today's Referendum Bill. Yes, as poorly drafted as that.
Ed Miliband will promise that there would continue to be a free vote in the next Parliament if anyone felt like introducing it as a Private Member's Bill, and that he himself would vote for such a Bill. But there will be no promise of Government Time. Without which, any Private Member's Bill is dead on arrival.
The restoration of national and parliamentary sovereignty could be a backbench initiative, but it really ought to be a Government one. Keep an eye on something like Labour Uncut, the website closest to the Whips' Office, and you will see that that is far more likely under a Labour Government than under a Conservative one.
The Party of Europe from everlasting will never, ever change. As we see at the moment. Of course there were divisions in and around the last Government over the EU. But they were managed better. Which is to say, they were managed at all.
Labour kept Britain out of the euro, it did not split or come anywhere close to doing so, it almost never even had a public row on the subject, and it has now been proved right as much to its internal dissidents as to everyone else. That did not make for late-night televisual entertainment. But it was the running of a serious country by serious people.
As for the restoration of traditional marriage, it would probably have to be a backbench initiative, but it is almost certain never to be necessary. This dog's dinner of a Bill will never reach the Statute Book. It is no longer about the principle. It is about the specific Bill. And whatever your view on the principle, read the specific Bill. It is as poorly drafted as today's Referendum Bill. Yes, as poorly drafted as that.
Ed Miliband will promise that there would continue to be a free vote in the next Parliament if anyone felt like introducing it as a Private Member's Bill, and that he himself would vote for such a Bill. But there will be no promise of Government Time. Without which, any Private Member's Bill is dead on arrival.
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