Next week's business
You've sat through 14 days of it. And be afraid. There are three more days of the this week. Labour has conclusively demonstrated that it can delay the bill beyond 16 February, the deadline by which it has to be law, in order for the promised referendum on switching to the Alternative Vote system in general elections to be held this May.
Labour's objection to the bill is not so much to the AV referendum (which was promised in their election manifesto last year) but to the proposals for cutting the number of MPs in the Commons. The Coalition contends that the current pattern of constituencies means Labour is over-represented, because many inner city seats with small-modest sized electorates are Labour strongholds, so it takes far fewer voters to elect a Labour MP.
The solution, embodied in this bill, is to insist that Commons seats should be within 5% of a standard size - the "electoral quota" reached by dividing the total electorate by the number of MPs. And because this is then combined with a cut in the number of MPs, Labour fear the bill could deal a fatal blow to their chances at the next election.
I rehearse all this because the key event on Monday, when the fun resumes, will be an amendment from the convener of the crossbench or independent peers, , re-instating public inquiries into the process of redrawing constituency boundaries. The Coalition had wanted to drop them, to ensure that the new boundaries were in place in good time to allow the parties to select candidates before the next election - in other words by 2015. Putting inquiries back in could make that a rather close run thing, but I understand there may be strict time limits as well.
The underlying thought is to demonstrate that genuine compromise is possible, to penetrate the increasingly poisonous atmosphere and to move the bill on, without provoking the Coalition into attempting to ram it through with a timetable motion. Further compromises could then follow: there may be a bit of movement from the Coalition on the idea of having a commission after the next election to revisit the issue of just how big the Commons should be - by which time, if the bill goes through, it will consist of 600 MPs. The real test may be if compromise can be reached on the key issue of how far seats will be allowed to vary from that "electoral quota".
Meanwhile the Leader of the Lords, , is said to be on the brink of attempting to bring in a timetable motion. Commons style guillotining of debates is an anathema to their lordships, but Lord Strathclyde is running out of options. It may be that a motion is tabled, and lurks menacingly on the agenda, without actually being moved. We shall see. But negotiations between the parties will doubtless continue through the weekend.
So let us turn to the Commons, where MPs will be dealing with other matters as their lordships battle on. On Monday, the week kicks off with Defence Questions, followed by the Health and Social Care Bill - Andrew Lansley's monumental set piece on the future of the NHS.
On Tuesday, William Hague will be answering Foreign Office Questions; possibly an update on the extraordinary events occurring in Egypt. Then MPs are back to discussing the European Union Bill; it's day four of a committee of the whole House.
We'll have some fascinating select committee proceedings too: the on prisoner voting and the looking at complaints and litigation in the NHS. The Health Committee's panel of witnesses include patients and their personal stories could make some powerful points.
The will also be taking evidence on student visas and the government's review of counter-terrorism. The kicks (sorry) off its inquiry into football governance with academics and FA insiders. And the witness list at the session on rebalancing the economy (to promote export-led growth) reads like a who's who of top British executives. Meanwhile the publishes its first report of the new Parliament - on behaviour and discipline in schools.
Wednesday's PMQs precedes a Ten Minute Rule Motion from Tony Lloyd on a High Pay Commission, then an Opposition Day Debate on the performance of the Business Department and forests in England. The latter has been the subject of huge controversy, with celebrities and protesters signing up against plans to change the way England's forests are managed.
On committee corridor, the Education Committee will be hearing from the Chief Schools Adjudicator Sir Ian Craig who's warned the government against its plans to simplify the admissions code for schools.
The will be looking at the Scotland Bill, which received its second reading on Thursday, and the will be questioning Vince Cable on the Green Investment Bank plan. And if your (energy) bills have gone through the roof, you might want to watch the , which will be talking to the big six energy providers about the state of the electricity market.
It's conceivable that by Thursday, we may know what their lordships have decided in relation to the Parliamentary Voting Bill. Certainly, they will be switching their attention to debates led by Lord Northbourne on early parenting and public funding for the arts led by Early of Clancarty. Lord Northbourne's debate will be the subject of a joint effort by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and the House of Lords; all next week ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Have Your Say and Democracy Live will be asking for views and experiences of early parenting, that Lord Northbourne and other interested peers will use to fuel the Lords' debate.
In the Commons, after Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions and the Business Statement, there will be two backbench debates: a motion relating to the Consumer Credit Regulation and a debate on the reform of legal aid.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox will be answering questions from a on UK-French defence.
Finally, it's a sitting day in the Commons on Friday, with private members' bills including Anna Soubry's Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill. And with that, another week ends - the biggest question undoubtedly being, what will have happened in the House of Lords?
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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