I don't pretend to have the inside track on the ins and outs of Parliamentary procedure. Maybe, for all I know, Ed Davey had every right to be peeved when the Deputy Speaker refused to allow MPs the chance to debate and vote on a Lib Dem call for a referendum to be held on the UK's membership of the EU.
What I do know however, it that losing your rag with the Speaker is not the way forward. By all accounts things got distinctly heated in the Commons this afternoon. Davey called the decision an "outrage", to which the Deputy Speaker responded "the outrage is in danger of being the honourable member's attitude to the chair." Which, in Parliamentary terms, is as close to a personal insult as it gets.
Davey carried on complaining until the Deputy Speaker decided he may as well cut his losses and kick the guy out of the Chamber altogether - red card job. At which point, all the other Lib Dem MPs stormed out.
Putting to one side the fact that the Commons must be a manifestly better place without a shed- load of Lib Dem MPs putting their oar in every five minutes, this little episode does little for the image of politicians generally. Even when they don't like them, MPs should respect the decisions of the Speaker in much the same way that footballers should play to the whistle.
Throwing your toys out of the pram gets you nowhere.
Looking Forward To A Labour Conference
16 years ago
2 comments:
Iain Dale (http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/02/pre-planned-libdem-stunt-that-went.html) seems to suggest that it was all planned anyway - that's even worse in my eyes. Men behaving like children. Hey-ho... nothing changes ;)
Yep, saw that after writing my own post. wsell, he is much better informed than me after all. And the BBC this morning was saying it was orchestrated too.
If it's true that's even worse. That doesn't show disrespect for the Parliamentary process, it shows contempt.
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