Govt have laid a fiendishly clever trap for Labour with the Police bill. 🧐
The draconian Protest clauses are being put through as part of a huge bunch of 'law & order' legislation.
If Labour votes against - govt/MSM will splash headlines that Starmer is soft on crime. 1/4
The draconian Protest clauses are being put through as part of a huge bunch of 'law & order' legislation.
If Labour votes against - govt/MSM will splash headlines that Starmer is soft on crime. 1/4
The rumour is that Starmer plans to whip his MPs to abstain, to try & avoid the trap. It won't work. The Govt & MSM will treat an abstention in the same way as they would a vote against.
He may as well do the right thing, and vote against the Bill. 2/4
He may as well do the right thing, and vote against the Bill. 2/4
I believe Starmer should ALSO draw attention to the dishonest and frankly undemocratic practice of hiding controversial legislation in amongst other pieces of proposed legislation which are politically very difficult for the Opposition to vote against - to get it passed. 3/4
Why not take a stand and refuse to play along? The Protest clauses should be presented by Govt as a separate bill, and voted on separately by the Opposition parties.
THAT is democracy. Starmer should come out and say so. 4/5
THAT is democracy. Starmer should come out and say so. 4/5
My concern is that Starmer, in attempting to win back voters who defected to the Tories in 2019, is unwittingly facilitating the Overton window around what's acceptable to do & say in politics moving further right. Our democracy needs him to stand up for it. 5/5 Ends.
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