The Labour government has faced sharp criticism from the Conservative Party, labeling its initial days in power “a supermarket sweep fill-your-boots all-you-can-eat blunderfest of delay and incompetence.” Shadow Commons Leader Jesse Norman spoke to MPs, stating that it was satisfying to see the Government at last coming up with a “plan for change.” He referred to how Commons Leader Lucy Powell had been “so persistently unwilling” to respond to his questions in Thursday’s Business Questions in the House.
A Call to Account
In his speech, Mr. Norman said, “I’m delighted to hear, as I’m sure we all are, that the Government is at last adopting a plan and that it is trying to change, because as we have so often noted at Business Questions, the Government’s first five months have been a festival, no, a carnival, a supermarket sweep fill-your-boots all-you-can-eat blunderfest, of delay and incompetence.”
He recalled that parliamentary accountability has been the cornerstone since the 13th century and is, in fact, essential to the proper functioning of democracy. Mr. Norman expressed disappointment over the failure of the Leader of the House to answer basic questions and noted, “If the Government have made a decent start, of course, she might want to talk about that. But the truth is, the Government has made a dreadful start. It’s been beset by petty scandals from the beginning.”
Defending the Government’s Actions
Lucy Powell reacted by saying, “Two-thirds of the Bills that we announced in our King’s Speech are now making their way through Parliament.” She also attacked the Conservative Party’s strategy, saying, “He really does need to work out what their strategy for opposition is here. You know, tell the country they’ve never had it so good when they were in? Or learn from defeat and accept that they got things wrong?”
She added, “And I might gently advise that they should listen to the voters, because acting as if they did nothing wrong and accepting no responsibility won’t do them any good at all.”
Liberal Democrats Advocate for Free Vote
The Liberal Democrats’ shadow Commons leader, Marie Goldman, has demanded a free vote on the Climate and Nature Bill, which aims to boost nature recovery and reduce carbon emissions. The Bill is set to be debated on January 24. Goldman welcomed the recent debate on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, which MPs had voted on freely last week, as “measured, respectful and considered” and showing “British democracy at its best.” Ms. Powell agreed that MPs did “really did, I think, show ourselves at our very best” during the assisted dying debate proposals. The Bill received its second reading by a margin of 55 votes, that is, 330 for and 275 against it.
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