Sunny Hundal makes the crucial point about this morning on Labour List: “an emergency was concocted. There’s little point in complaining about the rush because that was the whole point.” Ed Miliband’s Labour Party went along with it and Sunny rightly says “Ed Miliband’s civil liberties credentials are now in tatters.” Presumably, the calculation was that the vital Lib Dem to Labour switchers will stick with us because the Lib Dems are even worse.
Twenty-two members of the Labour Party opposed the bill at second reading accompanied by only four Lib Dems and ten Tories. Many more abstained. But all the minority parties (with the exception of Respect) were there.
Tom Watson deserves particular praise for his stand, and I’m afraid Yvette Cooper particular blame, in spite of her competent delivery. Yvette has provided good reason why Ed should look elsewhere for a Labour Home Secretary. As Sunny explains:
Tom Watson wrote to Yvette Cooper in April, after a European Court struck down these surveillance powers as illegal, to ask what reform might look like. He wanted the shadow Home Secretary to grasp the nettle and start the debate early.
But instead Yvette Cooper kept quiet and instead agreed to a stitch-up between Theresa May and Nick Clegg. Then, astonishingly, she stood up in the Commons yesterday to call for a wider debate on UK’s surveillance laws despite having ignored a fellow Labour MP who called on her to do exactly that.
The full roll of honour is as follows:
Labour
Abbott, Ms Diane
Betts, Mr Clive
Brown, rh Mr Nicholas
Corbyn, Jeremy (teller)
Cunningham, Mr Jim
Flello, Robert
Francis, Dr Hywel
Godsiff, Mr Roger
Havard, Mr Dai
Hoey, Kate
Hopkins, Kelvin
Lavery, Ian
Lazarowicz, Mark
McDonnell, John
Meacher, rh Mr Michael
Morris, Grahame M.
Mudie, Mr George
Riordan, Mrs Linda
Skinner, Mr Dennis
Smith, rh Mr Andrew
Watson, Mr Tom
Winnick, Mr David
Conservative
Baker, Steve (teller)
Binley, Mr Brian
Bone, Mr Peter
Davies, Philip
Davis, rh Mr David
de Bois, Nick
Dorries, Nadine
Hollobone, Mr Philip
Mills, Nigel
Turner, Mr Andrew
Liberal Democrat
Hames, Duncan
Heath, Mr David
Hemming, John
Sanders, Mr Adrian
SNP
Hosie, Stewart
MacNeil, Mr Angus Brendan
Robertson, Angus
Weir, Mr Mike
Whiteford, Dr Eilidh
Wishart, Pete
SDLP
Durkan, Mark
McDonnell, Dr Alasdair
Ritchie, Ms Margaret
Plaid Cymru
Edwards, Jonathan
Llwyd, rh Mr Elfyn
Williams, Hywel
Alliance Party
Long, Naomi
Green Party
Lucas, Caroline
DUP
Wilson, Sammy
The names are a labour party left of centre, I would not even need any one to have put them up I could have guessed them, and the ones who voted for it, these labour-rites would have made Tony Blair happy and proud.
So where was Katy Clark?
Katy Clark voted with the bulk of Labour MPs on this division (on the timetable motion which telescoped the Commons process into a single day) which was the biggest rebellion, but did rebel in the next vote (against second reading of the bill) which registered her opposition to the bill. The additional rebels in this later vote were:
Campbell, Mr Ronnie
Clark, Katy
Sheridan, Jim
Skinner, Mr Dennis
Apart from Katy Clark, the others had abstained in the first vote. If I’d had time I would have analysed the abstainers and each vote separately.
It’s always important to treat the voting record in a single division with care. It is a basis for asking questions, not for reaching conclusions. Just because someone is not on a “roll of honour” does not mean they are on a roll of shame. There are always other votes and abstention may be intended as an indication of opposition too (though it may also indicate absence with or without good cause). Rebellions are often not well organised or planned, but in some cases can still be significant.