Lords’ resolve set for AV test
Labour peers’ bid to derail the coalition’s electoral reform legislation faces a key clash with the government as another day of debate gets underway.
The Lords sits for its 11th day of line-by-line scrutiny of the bill, with the opposition doing all it can to prolong the proceedings.
Former lord chancellor Charles Falconer, leading the fight against the parliamentary voting system and constituencies bill, is seeking to prevent the legislation receiving royal assent by February 16th.
If he succeeds the coalition’s proposed referendum on the alternative vote will not be able to take place on May 5th because of Electoral Commission rules.
Peers sat all night, only wrapping up the sitting which began on Monday afternoon the following lunchtime.
“Because there was no break in the all-night sitting, it remained Monday January 17th in the House of Lords for an additional 13 hours,” parliament’s website explained.
“Tuesday January 18th in the House of Lords chamber officially began around 1.5 hours after the previous day’s business had ended.”
Peers unexpectedly rushed through a series of amendments on Tuesday and quickly adjourned for the day, prompting speculation that a backroom deal had been achieved.
Sources in the upper House suggested that the government remained confident it could secure the bill’s passage before the February 16th deadline.
The indication followed deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s confident assertion in the Commons yesterday that “it will be passed… we are determined that it shall be passed”.
Speculation is growing that the government is prepared to use the guillotine motion, a much-criticised procedure in which a vote introducing a time limit on debate is passed by the government, in the Lords.
The Lords begins this afternoon’s sitting from around 15:45 GMT.
