Call for opposition to counter ministers’ ‘cynical attempt to bypass parliamentary scrutiny’
The Labour party has been urged to take advantage of a unique opportunity to vote down a raft of last-minute amendments to an already controversial crime bill, which human rights activists have described as “a dangerous power grab”.
The 18 pages of amendments to the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill were introduced by government peers in November, on the day nine members of the protest group Insulate Britain appeared in court charged with contempt.
Unlike the rest of the bill, however, where the lords can merely send amendments back to the Commons to be reconsidered, because the latest amendments were introduced in the House of Lords they will fall if peers vote against them.
But that can only happen if Labour agrees to oppose them, according to the Green party peer Jenny Jones. “If a rebellion by the Lords in defence of civil liberties has any chance of defeating these police state laws, then we need the Labour party to join those of us who plan to oppose the government,” Jones said.
“These draconian laws, that will make effective protests illegal, should be seen as part of the attack on our democracy designed to keep a corrupt government in power and minimise opposition. Ironically, it could be the government’s attempt to bypass parliamentary scrutiny by MPs, that enables the lords to defeat these 18 pages of new amendments.”
Among other powers, the new amendments will...
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