Slaughter of the Innocents

Week two of the autumn term, and already it feels like we've been back forever. All the excitement of a full sitting week is detailed below.

Oral PQs

Monday - Home Office
Tuesday - Scotland; Communities and Local Government
Wednesday - International Development; Prime Minister
Thursday - Treasury

Important stuff

Legal Services Bill [HL]: remaining stages thereof on Monday afternoon. This Bill is set to give greater powers for consumers and establish a new Legal Services Board (LSB) and an Office for Legal Complaints.
PMQs: Wednesday midday. Will we be watching from behind our hands? Tune in to find out...
Opposition Day debate: Wednesday afternoon on the incompetent handling on the part of the Government of the foot and mouth and bluetongue outbreaks.

May be of interest

Business statement: the weekly ding-dong between Harriet Harman and Theresa May is a joy, comprising as it does Theresa's outlining of everything Harriet's said the week before and asking her to comment on it. Truly painful, but always compelling.

Private Members' Bills

The House is sitting on Friday 19th, and judging from the huuuuge list of Private Members' Bills, it may well be the thirteenth sitting Friday of the 2006/07 session (Parliament's prorogued at the end of the month for the Queen's speech, right?), which is nicknamed "Slaughter of the Innocents" due to the high number of PMBs that hit the legislative dust on that day.

Ten Minute Rule Bills

Those brave campaigners for truth who gave us the pisspoor Why Democracy? show on "HOW POLITICIANS LIE, INNIT!!!1 11!" promised us all that Adam Price MP would be introducing the production crew's scribblings in a Ten Minute Rule this Wednesday 17th. Sadly, the only Ten Minute Rule Westmonster can see is Access to Pension Protection Fund Benefits Bill, to be introduced by Mark Hendrick on that day.

Still, there seemed to be some confusion amongst the Why Democracy? team on whether an EDM was identical to a PMB (!) so one rather suspects that the campaign for greater democracy in the UK will survive twithout the benefit of either their hectorings or their legislative programme.

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 14 Oct 2007 10:06 AM. Permalink