Mysteriously, it looks like Justice and Security Bill not materialising after all - Khan
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on reports the publication of the Justice and Security Bill has been delayed, said:
News from the Shadow Justice Secretary & Shadow Lord Chancellor
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on reports the publication of the Justice and Security Bill has been delayed, said:
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on reports the publication of the Justice and Security Bill has been delayed, said: "If there were a book on how not to run a government, the shenanigans over the Justice and Security Bill would make a great chapter. Last Sunday, the Justice Secretary spent the day on TV and radio trailing publication of the Bill, telling us it would appear this week. But now, mysteriously, it looks like it's not materialising after all. "The way this Tory-led Government has dealt with this sensitive issue shows what a prize mess it is making. The consultation finished in January and threw up considerable concerns, but rather than publicly responding or addressing them there has been radio silence. A prestigious committee of both Houses of Parliament have also written a critical report, which has simply been ignored by the Government. "The Liberal Democrats appear to be briefing unhappiness with the proposals yet Nick Clegg signed off the plans previously. The Justice Secretary promised a White Paper but now he’s dumped the idea and has said he will publish a Bill this week but hasn't. This is a joke of a way to deal with such sensitive and controversial plans. "Labour understands better than many how tough it can be balancing civil liberties with hard action on national security. We have learnt the importance of having a proper debate before legislating. These are currently a confused set of proposals, poorly drafted and too widely defined. "We hope that the decision not to publish the Bill this week provides a pause for the Government to carefully consider its options. Swiftly moving to legislating is naive at best, foolhardy at worst." Ends
Editor's Note:
The Guardian have reported the Bill has been delayed, see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/may/23/justice-bill-delay-inquest-cameron-clegg
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on today’s second reading of the Election Registration and Administration (ERA) Bill, said:
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on today’s second reading of the Election Registration and Administration (ERA) Bill, said: On the principle of an accurate and complete electoral register:
“No one disagrees with wanting an electoral register as accurate and complete as possible. It’s critical in ensuring as many eligible people as possible are able to vote, and in helping to tackle fraud. An accurate and complete register performs wider civic roles – it’s the pool from which juries are drawn, it supports the work of credit rating agencies, is critical in mortgage applications, allows the police to track criminals and forms the basis of how parliamentary boundaries are drawn. That’s why changes to the electoral register need to be undertaken carefully and steadily if we’re to avoid unnecessarily depriving millions of people the vote." On introducing individual electoral registration:
“Labour legislated in 2009 to introduce individual electoral registration. Our steady approach, with a central role for the independent Electoral Commission, received cross-party support. Major lessons were learned from the experience of Northern Ireland. At each stage, key safeguards were in place to watch for falls in numbers of those registered. Only if the Electoral Commission were satisfied would the full and final switch take place." On the individual electoral registration proposals in the ERA Bill:
“There is no clear explanation of why the Tory-led Government is abandoning the cross-party consensus on electoral reform, by ripping up the careful 2009 plans, speeding up the transition and binning the independent safeguards. The minimal changes announced by the Government to their Bill won’t go far enough in preventing millions from falling off the register, many of whom will be amongst the most vulnerable in society. The impact this will have on the wider civic role of the register is very worrying." On the motives for the Bill:
“Constitutional change by this Tory-led Government over the last two years has been partisan and self-serving – fixing parliament lengths at five years, boundary changes and reducing the number of MPs by a figure chosen to impact Labour the most – is not the way to make constitutional change. Speeding up the move to individual electoral registration and making boundary changes on the basis of an electoral register missing millions is a recipe for disaster. It could lead to a further major change in constituency boundaries in 5 years. This is why people are suspicious.
“The Government know full well that the moment at which the electoral register risks being the most vulnerable to a sharp fall in size is precisely when this data will be used to shape new parliamentary constituency boundaries. As those most likely to fall off the register are weighted towards urban areas, any redrawing would lead to major upheaval and a skewing of political representation in Westminster. This is an alarming prospect and the very legitimacy of parliamentary representation will be thrown into doubt.”
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, said on today’s prisoner voting decision by the European Court of Human Rights:
Rob Flello MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Minister, commenting on today’s appointment of the Chief Coroner, said:
“Today’s announcement that the position of Chief Coroner has been filled is long overdue. The fact the Tory-led Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this position is shameful. It was Labour, along with many other organisations and charities such as Inquest and the Royal British Legion, that had to fight tooth and nail in opposing the Government’s appalling plans to abolish the Chief Coroner role.
"Having been forced by Parliament to keep the office of Chief Coroner, this Tory-led Government proceeded to strip away almost all its powers. This is an insult to bereaved families and this belated appointment only partially makes up for this."
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to Ken Clarke’s comments on secret court hearings, said
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on the discussion of a British Bill of Rights in today's Justice Questions, said:
Sadiq Khan MP, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on the discussion of a British Bill of Rights in today's Justice Questions, said:
“Ken Clarke is in Russia, doesn’t come to the Commons for Justice Questions, and then his stand-in minister lets the cat out of the bag on the Tories' British Bill of Rights. All along, it’s been clear that their desire to unpick Labour’s Human Rights Act and replace it with a Bill of Rights is meaningless, and nothing more than red meat for the restless Tory backbenchers. "Today, in the Commons, Shailesh Vara confirmed a Bill of Rights would be no different whatsoever to the Human Rights Act. Our human rights legislation deserves better than the playing of silly party political games.” EndsSadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on today’s announcement on reform of the House of Lords in the Queen’s Speech:
