The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill passes its second reading with a majority of 44 – but Conservative rebels have threatened to vote against it at third reading.
His Bill may be held up in the Lords as he continues to insists that his Government will stop the boats. The only means of squaring the two would be an election with illegal migration centre-stage.
The Government made a last ditch attempt to stave off the rebellion, but it was not enough to persuade senior Tory backbenchers including former Cabinet ministers Chloe Smith and Damian Green to back down.
Doing the minimum possible on legal migration would have the unwelcome effect for the Prime Minister of prolonging and intensifying debate about it.
The Prime Minister says he “will take no lessons from the Labour Party on protecting our national security”.
The Labour leader says Britain needs a government “committed to the national interest, not desperately trying to save their own skin”.
“Now that we’ve strengthened the foundations, this King’s Speech turns to the future… with a single objective: to change our country for the better.”
Instead of a Conservative housing policy that emphasises home ownership and architectural beauty, it will now be done the Labour way. When tower blocks start rising over the Home Counties, I hope that our remaining MPs realise their mistake.
But there’s a lesson from Tolstoy’s words about unhappy families: each departing MP is departing in their own way.
The voters of Mid Bedfordshire may not have the power to precipitate a by-election, but her parliamentary colleagues do. If they don’t, will their outrage at her conduct ring hollow?
These disputes between the executive, legislature and judiciary are normally settled by a codified constitution, but Israel, like the UK, is unusual in the modern age in not having one
That the payment they received upon losing their seat has been drastically reduced means fewer have much incentive to endure the painful business of defeat.
Suspending Boris Johnson’s allies for attacking the inquiry sets an unhappy precedent which is not in the long-term interests of the political constitution.
This perhaps reflects the fact that with the Speech happening on 7th November, there will be little actual time for legislation in the final session of Parliament in any case.