Brexit in the Lords
This morning has been interesting. Blair took to the stage in London to tell everyone not to stand for any of this Brexit stuff. Then, at the UKIP Spring Conference, Farage stood up and said, well, pretty much the opposite of what Blair had said. They both, though agreed that Labour are in trouble. Blair referred to 'debilitated' Labour, while Farage said he sensed they were losing their sense of purpose in England and Wales.
Next week will be dominated by Brexit and by-elections. Monday and Tuesday see the Lords get stuck into Brexit Bill. 186 peers have signed up to make a speech and there are no time limits in Lords debate. It'll take a while, but all points will be heard. There have been many comments made about how the Lords will be in big trouble if they don't do as they're told. That won't kick off until the following week. No changes can be made to the Bill until 27th February when it goes into committee stage.
Wednesday will be PMQs. There might just be a bit more spice to it than usual, as Thursday sees by-elections in Copeland and Stoke Central. In Copeland, Conservatives have been playing on Corbyn's reluctance about nuclear power. Sellafield is a huge employer there so it makes a big impact. The bookmakers have the Conservatives to win by quite a margin. That would be the first time since 1982 that a government have won a seat from the opposition in by-election.
Stoke Central looked to be very close too, but after Paul Nuttall's terrible week, it looks like Labour will manage to hold on. The bookies have cut the odds. That said, I've just watched Paul Nuttall's speech at the UKIP Spring Conference. It was quite heated. The crowd were pretty pumped up. I wouldn't write them off.
Friday will see the fallout from whatever the results are. If Labour do lose both, that fallout could be quite big. Keep an eye on the Commons, though. Two Private Members Bills (which don't normally go anywhere) are making some good progress. Details below.
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Our pick of the laws being debated in Parliament next week...
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European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill
Here it is - the Bill that, if passed, will mean the UK will leave the EU. The Government was forced to draw up this legislation after the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament had to vote on Brexit. The Bill itself is very short and simply confers powers on the Prime Minister to invoke Article 50 of the treaty on the European. The Bill passed at the second reading, survived the Committee stage and has now gone over to the House of Lords.
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Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence Bill
This would bring the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence into UK law. This is a European-wide agreement that comprehensively sets out a framework on prevention, protection and prosecution. It opened for signature in 2011 and has so far been signed by over 40 countries.
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Homelessness Reduction Bill
This would require councils in England to take action to prevent people from becoming homeless, rather than just deal with the consequences when people are already homeless. This is only for England because housing is devolved in the other three UK nations; a similar duty on councils has recently been introduced in Wales.
This Private Members Bill starts it's Lords journey on Friday.
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