Wednesday 4 July 2018

SNP MPs have revenge on English Tories at Westminster.

The SNP managed to get a bit of revenge after they The SNP was  lefy furious after a strict guillotine on debate on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill left just 15 minutes to discuss a series of devolution controversies on last month..

The SNP  forced divisions in the House of Commons over spending estimates.
It means MPs will have to spend the evening in voting lobbies rather than watching the England game.
The Tories are on a three-line whip and – as you might have assumed – Labour seem to be abstaining.
Estimates Day sees MPs consider the estimates of public spending by government departments.

 As The Nation reports
Normally they don't bother with votes – it's a dull affair and they can get away with it  highlights the ridiculous lack of electronic voting in the archaic Commons. Previously, this factor helped leave a debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill with just 15 minutes dedicated to its impact on Scotland.
Plus, it's a nice bit of revenge after a Tory MP boasted about skipping a debate on the power grab to watch a previous England game.
And this vote has implications. As Kirsty Blackman pointed out:

"To be clear, the estimates is the breakdown of UK Government spending by department. It’s our only chance to vote on UK Government spending. It’s not really obscure.
"The process has only been changed this year to make it less obscure after pressure from us. It should be reformed further though!"
And, let's face it, if Westminster are going to trample over the devolution settlement to steal powers from Scotland, why not give them a taste of their own medicine? A hilarious one, too.
All the divisions were won by a margin of around 250 votes. Yet, because the SNP can shout very loudly, Deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing's best efforts to say "the Ayes have it" were futile ... she had to keep calling divisions.

It raises an important point about Commons procedure.
And it annoyed the Tories. Andrew Bridgen, Tory MP for North West Leicestershire, reportedly said: 

“The SNP are the Millwall of Brexit. Everyone hates them and they don’t care."
At one point, a Tory MP raised a point of order asking if the SNP would be forcing these votes had Scotland been playing.
Deputy Speaker Laing – born in Paisley – said it wasn't a point of order ... but joked that she hoped Scotland would one day be playing in a big game again."

After the fifth division was completed, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford raised a point of order.

He said: 
“Perhaps it is pertinent given some of the angst from the government benches to point out what has happened this evening.
"The reason we’re here is because of government business. It is the government that is responsible for timetabling. And this was the only opportunity we have had to speak out against the continued austerity from this Conservative government and the attack on the budget of Scotland.
"But more importantly, three weeks ago we had a power grab against the powers of the Scottish Parliament. And I signalled to the Conservative Government then, that what they have done, is act against the consent of the Scottish parliament and the Scottish people ... it would no longer be business as usual, and I now commend the Scottish National Party for standing up for Scotland tonight.

It was probably worth it just to annoy the likes of Nadine Dorries
Summed up by this tweat
A lot of Tory MPs furious that the SNP is forcing them to stay in the Commons and vote through budget estimates instead of watching the big match.

Guess you shouldn't have pissed them off by rail-roading the debate and then 
 And Plaid's Liz Saville Roberts pointed out Labour missed an open goal


10h10 hours ago
Labour prefer TV football to beating Tory austerity agenda Look at the numbers Govt 175 Opposition 33 Labour MPs abstaining 259
“It was a ludicrous stunt. They clearly wanted to be thrown out. Their behaviour was like a class of six year olds … All from an entity which has half the population of London. Powers were always owned by London and devolved down. They were never, and could never be, owned by Edinburgh. They’ll be devolved down again but legally they are in London’s gift. If you have a country, that’s how it works. You may not wish to be part of UK, but win a referendum.”

Well he may be right but  those Tories who were celebrating and jeering after the 15 minute power grab , were taught a lesson that if they can misuse the archaic Westminster debate to stifle debate others can use it to ensure there is one when they want to be in bar watching a football match.
 
 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kangaroo says
So looking forward to the Claim of Right debate. Ha ha it will be a laugh watching all the non SNP Scottish MPs tie themselves in knots.

Brexit is serving up some cracking entertainment.