42 DAYS BINNED

So. After all the arm-twisting, all the drama, 42 Days as a counter-terrorism is binned. It took one of the biggest defeats ever for the Government in the House Of Lords for this unnecessary and unwanted legislation to bite the dust. Hope Mandelson enjoyed his debut in the Upper Chamber. ......
In a bald statement to the media, Jacqui Smith makes it clear there will be no renewed battle in the House Of Commons. Why? The whole issue was only ever about Gordon Brown's authority and, now he has reassserted his leadership due to the financial crisis, the Government can just afford to let it go. One should be glad the legislation is history but I wonder what all those MPs who were cajoled into voting for it now think. Yet again, the Labour Left has been proved right. Time to get on properly with nationalising the banks, then......
As Mark Serwotka said at tonight's LEAP rally in London "The thought of New Labour nationalising banks would have seemed absurd even a few weeks ago. Now up to £500 billion is being made available to prop up the banking system in these unstable economic times.
"We should look at the conditions attached to the massive injection of taxpayer’s money into the banking system. There should be controls on top pay, and restrictions on repossessions, with future profits from the banks going to the public purse. The trend of offshoring to avoid taxation must be brought to a rapid halt too.
"The arguments for more free markets, less regulation, and more privatisation have now been found wanting and hollow. No one trusts the smooth tongued financiers anymore

KEITH VAZ AND THE LETTER

Anyone seriously surprised that the 42 days vote was won by Tammany Hall-style backroom dealing? We know the DUP were bought off , that MP after MP was bribed, cajoled and bullied into toeing the line. That , let's face it, is how Brown became Leader without a contest. And people wonder why Labour is doing so badly?
The electorate is not stupid. The electorate has had enough. At what price did Brown win that 42 days vote? One which may bring him down in the next few months.

BENNITES 4 DAVIS?

Interesting debate over at Dave Osler's blog as to whether Tony Benn should have announced his support for David Davis. In truth, I am a bit ambivalent about this one as those of us in our middle years go back an awfully long way politically with TB and it's weird and miore than a little unsettling I agree to see him advocating a Tory. But let's ask ourselves why.

Firstly, a craven PLP caved in utterly and allowed Brown to get away with the 42 days legislation. The Cabinet is similarly supine and unprincipled.

Brown manipulated the vote as one of "no confidence" and thereby thought the issue woul,d be dead in the water once he had got it through Parliament not by winning the argument but by bullying and deals.

Once Davis had announced he was resigning Labour almost immediately said it would not stand a candidate. Sorry - but if you think you have the public with you ( and that was the New labour line) and the moral high ground then you shoukd be prepared to put it to the test. By NOT standing a candidate, Labour has allowed its standing to sink even further in the public's estimation . Big tactical mistake.

Of course if Labour had stood a candidate neither TB nor Marshall-Andrews ( or anyone else on the Labour Left) could have spoken up for Davis. They would be expelled from the Party.

So, in the context of the situation as it stands, and the fact that 42 days has been another tipping-point for many Party members, Benn is right to carry on campaigning. But I do understand why some will disagree....

DAVIS THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

A topsy-turvy world indeed when David Davis is standingup for civil liberties - and the appalling Kelvin McKenzie backs the official line from the Labour Government.
My MP, with dozens of others, supported the 42 days in the face of serious pressure from the Whips. And now? Events, as they say, are always the deus ex machina which turns everything round so now despite his "victory" Brown is facing the prospect of an unmitiagated by-election drubbing for the sake of a policy which very few on the Labour benches actually supported.
One of the many stories which Tony Benn tells is the advice his father gave him many years ago ie to "dare to be a Daniel." Sound counselling indeed. But there were only 37 Labour MPs who had the courage of their convictions the other day and those who didn't are not in a better place at all as a result of their surrender. Quite the contrary
Today's Scotland On Sunday has an excellent piece by one Tom Brown (no relation) asto where Gordon should go to salvage what remains of his Premiership. It's familiar
ground to anyone on the Left but its commonsense shrieks out The tragedy is I just do not think anyone in the Government is listening anymore. As for the PLP well they seem to have donned their lemming costumes and walked a little but further towards the abyss. It could all be so very different......
.http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/12700/Tom-Brown-The-amount-I.4186789.jp

THE 37

Here is the list of the 37 rebels - sorry to say my MP Chris McCafferty is not among them. Hlaifax MP Linda Riordan and Batley and Spen MP Mike Wood are:

Diane Abbott; Richard Burden; Katy Clark; Harry Cohen; Frank Cook; Jeremy Corbyn; Jim Cousins; Andrew Dismore; Frank Dobson; David Drew; Paul Farrelly; Mark Fisher; Paul Flynn; Neil Gerrard; Ian Gibson; Roger Godsiff; John Grogan; Dai Havard; Kate Hoey; Kelvin Hopkins; Glenda Jackson; Lynne Jones; Peter Kilfoyle; Andrew MacKinlay; Bob Marshall-Andrews; John McDonnell; Michael Meacher; Julie Morgan; Chris Mullin; Douglas Naysmith; Gordon Prentice; Linda Riordan; Alan Simpson; Emily Thornberry; David Winnick; Mike Wood.

"HOLLOW VICTORY" FOR GOVERNMENT AS COMPASS CAVE IN ON 42 DAYS

So. Despite the arm-twisting, despite the deals, the Government wins by NINE VOTES. Precisely the number of MPs in the DUP, without whom Brown would have been defeated. Jon Trickett , Jon Cruddas, well done, you delivered the hammer blow to civil liberties you have professed to support
We have yet to see who actually rebelled against this appalling piece of legislation. But let's applaud those 37 MPs Because despite squeaking home on this the PM's "victory" is a shabby and unprincipled disaster for the Labour Party. And for those who parade their left credentials and let us down time after time. Thankfully, I decided weeks ago not to attend this year's COMPASS conference. I feel sorry for those who have wasted their money.

As John McDonnell has just said," Any attempt to present this as some sort of victory for the Government will ring absolutely hollow. There will be widespread consternation among our supporters in the country seeing a Labour Government prepared to use every tactic available in its determination to crush essential civil liberties, which have been won by the labour movement over generations.
"This is no way to run a Government. Securing votes by threats, bribes and personal pleading demeans the role of the Prime Minister. Backbench Labour MPs from all sides of the Party have looked on in disbelief at how the Government has mishandled this issue.
"This is not the end of the battle over 42 days, merely the beginning."

STANDING FIRM ON THE LEFT

Today's piece on the 42 days vote in the Independent makes for interesting reading - but my suspicion is that the threat of defeat tonight in the House of Commons is being overplayed . Neverthless, it conjures up some wonderful visions of a contrite and desperate Gordon begging left-wingers for support. There are 10 "wavering MPs." who could make the crucial difference . Graham Stringer is one and I daresay Jon Cruddas is another .If Cruddas caves in, he loses all left credibility - however much Neal Lawson pleads his and COMPASS's case in the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/10/tradeunions.labour?commentpage=1
From the Independent
Mr Brown's fate could lay in the hands of about 10 wavering Labour MPs, who oppose 42-day detention but may pull back from voting against it because defeat would inflict further damage on the party's standing with voters.
Ministers were forced to plead with members of the hard-left Campaign Group, some of whom Mr Brown has met three times, and the Democratic Unionist Party, who normally vote with the Conservatives and whose nine MPs could hold the balance.
The Prime Minister even risked a rift with George Bush on the eve of the US President's visit to London by promising Labour left-wingers he would back the lifting of EU sanctions against Cuba if they supported him on 42 days. Mr Bush wants the sanctions, which include a ban on high-level visits by Cuban officials, to be maintained but some EU countries, led by Spain, want them abolished to encourage the new leadership in Cuba.
"It was a tempting offer but I have decided that human rights in Britain are more important," said one left-winger who was lobbied by Mr Brown.

BROWN'S LAST DITCH PLEA

BBC reports that Gordon Brown has written to ALL MPs urging support on the 42 days issue. What is it with Brown he loves these death-or-glory spats. Unlike Blair before him, the PM isn't good at escaping Houdini-like from Parliamentary scraps.
But I have a horrible hunch he may on this one as so many MPs are running scared.
I was not going to comment on anything political today but have had to return to blog to enable comment moderation - am getting rather sick of nasty personal abuse from anonymous posters. So from now on NO anonymous comments either