The Standing Committee for Delegated Legislation met on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the Designated Area Statutory Instrument.
Unfortunately this Committee could, as with all such SI's only vote to Reject or Accept the Statutory Instrument as a whole, and not to amend it.
Accordingly, despite some convincing points by the Liberal Democrat David Heath, and the Conservative Edward Garnier, and even from Harry Cohen and Robert Wareing on the Labour side, when it came to a vote, the SI was approved by 8 votes to 7.
We will link to the Hansard account of the debate when it becomes available online. (now available online)
Harry Cohen read into the record an email letter from one of the people who has been arrested Mrs. Caroline Simpson. He voted with his principles intact against the Order.
Robert Wareing could not bring himself to rebel against the Government, but abstained.
The Home Office Minister Paul Goggins stuck to the NuLabour fiction that somehow having to ask for prior written permission, and the possability of arbitrary Conditions, somehow does not curtail "demonstrations".
He admitted that his "working assumption" was that it was "static demonstrations" which the Act was intended to cover, whilst admitting that this concept did not actually appear in the wording of the Act itself.
He did not convince anyone that these powers were not disproportionate and contrary to our European Convention on Human Rights, especially the right of Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Expression.
He claimed that the fact that decisions could be challenged under Judicial Review in the hIgh Court (where lawyers often charge £1000 an hour, and where the Government's legal fees are paid by the taxpayer), meant that somehow the system was fair.
He claimed that if there were any documents about the consultations beetween the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police giving reasons as to the particular extent of the Designated Area, he would make them available to MPs in the Commons Library.
He seemed to be unable to give any reasons why the boundary of the Designated Area goes where it does across Victoria Street, yet it is obvious to the public that this threeby includes the New Scotland Yard headquarters of the Metropolitan Police within the Designated Area.
Paul Goggins did reveal that Permission had been given for 66 Demonstration Notification Applications, and that no conditions had been imposed on these, since the start of the legislation on 1st July 2005.
Interestingly, he also claimed that 18 people had been arrested so far, seemingly all actually just within Parliament Square, and not the rest of the wide Designated Area.
We wonder who the Eighteenth person might be, as we have only heard of 17 people having been arrested, of whom only 16 have been charged.
Unfortunately, this obscure Committee debate did not seem to attract the Parliamentary press reporters, and so may well go unnoticed in Thursday's newspapers and TV reports.
Given that the Labour majority has been reduced at the last General Election, it is unclear why they were allowed to have such a large inbuilt majority on this Committee. 10 Labour MPs and only 6 Opposition MPs is disproportionate to their actual majority. i.e 40& more MPs on the Committee compared with the combined Opposition parties.
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