Toblog

1. v. The act of writing a weblog or 2. n. Toby’s weblog.

Moving Forward from Digital Economy Bill Passing Last Night

Many others have written and created more than I can right now so here’s a collection of the posts that say what I want to say but better:

I’m sure there will be more as the day goes on.

Finally, comments from me: suffice to say, I am very disappointed with the result and disgusted with Parliament. In particular I’d like to single out Ed Vaisey and his colleague Adam Afriyie for using the debate to score political points and not actually debate the bill. It was an example of the ‘change’ and ‘hope’ the Conservative Party offers. It was repellent. The bill was opposed from all sides of the house and then forced through by a three line whip and a compliant front bench from both the major parties. The stench that has dogged this last parliament just got more foul and does not bode well for the next. We need to seriously examine how our parliament works and how we can improve it. Whipping should be one of the first things we look at.

Huge thanks to all those such as Tom Watson who risked their future by breaking the whip and voted against the bill and actually represented their constituents rather than the interests of large lobbying organisations. It’s hard for MPs to break a three line whip in particular so they should be praised through the roof. Thanks should also go to all of the Liberal Democrats who voted against for whatever reason. The way the ‘game’ is played meant that it looked like they wouldn’t at some points so it was a big relief to see it happen. They have all given us a base that means that…

…the fight continues.

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