The last two days have seen three Liberal Democrat rebellions on the Coalition's troubled Health and Social Care Bill, involving a total of eleven Lib Dem MPs. Yesterday, ten Lib Dem MPs backed a Labour amendment that would have ensured that the Secretary of State would be responsible for the provision of health services. The amendment was defeated by 304 votes to 255, but the rebellion had the effect of reducing the Coalition's majority to 49.
Four Liberal Democrat MPs went on to oppose the Third Reading of the Bill, while Stephen Gilbert cast a deliberate abstention by voting in both lobbies. The previous day three Lib Dem MPs backed a Labour amendment in the name of Emily Thornberry that would have deleted Clause 168 of the Bill, which abolishes the cap on the number of private patients who can be treated in foundation trust hospitals. The Coalition's considerable concessions in the last few months have helped to buy off many but by no means all the Lib Dem rebels.
These latest examples of Liberal Democrat dissent have helped bring up another Coalition milestone: the number of Coalition Commons rebellions so far this Parliament now stands at 150, a rebellion rate of a rebellion in 44% of votes. Sixty-six of these rebellions have involved Liberal Democrat MPs, a rate of a rebellion in 19% of votes.
As Mike Reid used to say in EastEnders (well, sort of), whilst shaking his head in sorrow: ‘Nadine, Nadine, Nadine’.
In a Commons with so many MPs who would in general be willing to support some form of restrictions on abortion, it takes a special sort of genius to go down to defeat by a factor of more than three to one. But that was the fate of Nadine Dorries’ Report Stage amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill, which was heavily defeated yesterday by 368 votes to 118. An analysis of the voting can be found over at the University of Nottingham School of Politics blog, Ballots and Bullets.
On their first day back after the summer recess, all three main political parties experienced small rebellions during the Report stage of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Bill. The legislation replaces the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, which introduced controversial control orders for terrorist suspects who could not be extradited from the UK on human rights grounds.
Two long-standing Labour opponents of stringent anti-terrorists measures - Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell - opposed a new clause in the name of Hazel Blears that would have retained the Home Secretary's power in the 2005 Act to direct a terrorist suspect to reside at a specific address that was not his or her home address. Later on, while Corbyn and McDonnell opposed a Labour amendment ensuring proper resources for the new legislation, two Liberal Democrat grandees - Sir Alan Beith and Sir Menzies Campbell - supported the move. Lastly, Tory backbencher David Davis, probably the most well-known opponent of anti-terrorist measures, voted against the Bill's Third Reading.
As MPs head off on their summer holidays, one group that will need them more than most will be the government whips. Our figures for the session to date show that there have been a total of 147 separate backbench revolts by government MPs since the 2010 election. That is more than in any single session since the end of the Second World War, and this session is not over yet. Indeed, those 147 rebellions constitute, in less than one session, more than in any entire Parliament from 1945 to 1970
The Conservative whips will note with concern that of their 86 rebels, a majority have now come from the 2010 intake.
Enjoy the summer break; we suspect there's a lot more trouble waiting when Parliament resumes.
There's an otherwise interesting article on the funding of UK higher education in the latest Economist, marred by the curious claim that ‘Tony Blair’s efforts to increase tuition fees were more contentious in Parliament than his decision to wage war on Iraq’.
As any fule kno - at least if they've read this book - the Higher Education Bill of 2004 was certainly difficult for the whips; some 72 Labour MPs voted against its Second Reading.
But the largest Iraq rebellion saw 139 Labour MPs vote against their Government. This was – and remains – the largest rebellion against the party whip of MPs of any party, on any issue, since the revolts over the abolition of the corn laws in the 1840s. The difference was that Conservative opposition to the Higher Education Bill made the outcome of the vote doubtful whereas Conservative support over Iraq guaranteed a government victory. The passage of top up fees was therefore less certain. But there can be no doubt which was the more contentious.
For those who think rebellious behaviour is all a thing of the past, up-to-date stats on the current batch are now online from the University of Nottingham's blog. There have not yet been any rebellions of a comparable size to those in 2003 and 2004, but the frequency of rebellion is currently much higher.
Not content with pronouncing AV dead for years to come following the decisive 'no' in the AV referendum, some members of the Tory right have made a point of flexing their muscles over their continued support for First-Past-the-Post. On Tuesday, during the Report stage of the Localism Bill, 21 Tory MPs supported an amendment in the name of newbie MP John Stevenson, which aimed to change the electoral system for electing mayors from the supplementary vote to FPTP. Fourteen out of the 21 rebels were drawn from the new intake, while four Conservative MPs were voting against the Government for the first time: Steve Brine, Nadine Dorries, John Stevenson and Craig Whittaker.
The Labour frontbench line was to abstain, but four traditionally-minded Labour MPs - Ronnie Campbell, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins and Dennis Skinner - voted for the amendment, while former Local Government minister, Nick Raynsford voted against.
In addition, over the last two days, the Localism Bill has provoked five relatively minor Liberal Democrat rebellions, involving a total of six MPs. On Tuesday, four Liberal Democrats supported opposed a Government new clause relating to planning permission. Later that same evening, four Liberal Democrats supported a Labour frontbench new clause which aimed to introduce a retail diversity scheme. They were joined by Tory maverick, Zac Goldsmith, who is into such things.
Our running total: 94 Tory rebellions so far this Parliament. We will probably get to 100 before the summer recess, even with the longish Whitsun break about to start on 24 May. It's times like this, we're glad we're not whips.
Yesterday saw a Labour Opposition Day debate on the future of the NHS - at the end of which no Liberal Democrat MP voted in support of the Labour motion.
But dig a little deeper, and you can see signs of the Lib Dem doubts about the government's policy for the NHS. Andrew George, who abstained on the Second Reading of the Health Bill on 31 January, cast a deliberate abstention last night by voting in both lobbies. And there is also a question mark over the large number of missing Liberal Democrat MPs. Dr John Pugh, a long-term critic of the Bill, spoke in the preceding debate against the legislation, but was then nowhere to be seen in either division lobby.
In total, there were 23 missing Lib Dems last night, of whom four were members of the Government (including the Deputy Prime Minister). So that leaves 19 missing Lib Dem backbenchers. We doubt all 19 had been given the night off.
And contrast last night's limp turnout of 33 Members with the 48 Lib Dem MPs who enthusiastically voted in favour of the Second Reading of the Health Bill on 31 January. The two votes aren't directly comparable but mustering fewer than six in ten of your parliamentary party in support of a key plank of Coalition policy hardly represents a full bill of health.
Today's Independent on Sunday has a piece on the high rates of rebellion amongst newly elected MPs. It draws on this piece, 'Pity Poor Patrick', on the Nottingham University Ballots and Bullets blog, which points out that those elected for the first time in 2010 are already more likely to have rebelled than those elected for the first time in 1997 did in the entire four years of that Parliament.
