Comments on Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy: Like a Vampire, "Destroy Parliament" Clause Return...

Thick:I believe Largactil might be of some use to ...

2008-03-29T20:25:00.000Z

Thick:

I believe Largactil might be of some use to you. Feel free to take as many pills as you like until the voices in your head stop talking to you. And please stop talking to us you deranged cunt.

pedantic fuck,ever heard of poetic license or mayb...

2008-03-29T17:14:00.000Z

pedantic fuck,
ever heard of poetic license or maybe you are a dalek? yes definitely a tory dalek.
Tony Blair is a war criminal. your party fully supported his engagement in war crimes.
you cunts are thick as thieves as far as the Iraq war is concerned. and stalk someone else next time.
note to self:daleks memory banks appear to have been wiped clean.
all data concerning Iraq and party corruption and dodgy expense claims has been lost....shred!.... malfunction....does not compute.....abort! abort!....etc
what a fucking carry on, eh?

Thick:Miranda was a Barrister, and not a very good...

2008-03-29T14:55:00.000Z

Thick:

Miranda was a Barrister, and not a very good one by all accounts. However, he came in useful as Derry Irvine, his Head of Chambers, was able to palm off the letterbox-gobbed Scouser he was shagging on to him, and the daft cunt actually went and married her.

that cunt blair was a solicitor.there are far too ...

2008-03-29T00:40:00.000Z

that cunt blair was a solicitor.
there are far too many spastic solicitors in parliament.
it has caused severe damage to our constitution and democracy.
and the legal instructions new labour constantly receives from america have also damaged the interests of this country.
gordon has no political capital in britain. his power comes from america. brown is like the american governor of the united kingdom.
what a lickspittle turncoat you are mr brown.
many people waited patiently for a labour government.
then you two cunts turned up.
you've just wasted ten years of this country's time.
the sooner brown fucks off, the sooner the damage he has caused can be repaired.

Apropos the Abolish Parliament Act of 2006, I wrot...

2008-03-28T18:19:00.000Z

Apropos the Abolish Parliament Act of 2006, I wrote to my MP (then Labour - I have moved since) to note my utter disgust at the act. She very sweetly replied, saying that I shouldn't worry, as she doubted the Government would ever use it...

Say no more.

Verification : plebqehg

Now you see why it is an advantage to have a "writ...

2008-03-28T12:32:00.000Z

Now you see why it is an advantage to have a "written constitution"; and, a Supreme Court that can overrule any Act that does not comply with that Constitution.

There are far too many "enabling Acts" that allow bucket loads of secondary legislative regulations. Many of these regulations do not even see the light of day because they just will not work. Most are just to complicated for MPs to understand, so they just wave them through. The "Bill Committees" will never see most of the regulation anyway. What a system!

Who gives a shit that a few lawyer-poster 'experts...

2008-03-28T07:56:00.000Z

Who gives a shit that a few lawyer-poster 'experts'(nulab?) think this crap is OK. Parliament if full of greedy worthless lawyer whores, on all sides, and not to its credit either. Laws should be clear in stating their purpose and application so that ordinary people can understand them, not to provide wank fodder for grasping smart arse lawyers. Where legislation is not clear people are quite right to be suspicious given the track record of this incompetent, authoritarian government.

Vampires are an increasing and often unrecognised ...

2008-03-28T07:44:00.000Z

Vampires are an increasing and often unrecognised problem. In a change of farm policy to take account of this, I have am growing a large garlic crop this year and can make arrangements with Guido's readers for reliable supplies at "Mates' Rates".

I'll give you an apology if Labour honours it's ma...

2008-03-28T00:39:00.000Z

I'll give you an apology if Labour honours it's manifesto pledge to have a referendum on the EU Constitution...

...still waiting...

...hmmmm...

....dumm de dum de dumm de dumm....

...whooooooosh...

...oh fuck it. Suck my plums you sad NuLab cunts! I'm glad this blog's here even if it does make the occasional error, although no-one's come back to me on the Civil Conitngencies Act.

there seem to be a lot of new labour zombies from ...

2008-03-27T22:08:00.000Z

there seem to be a lot of new labour zombies from labourbloggers4war telling us to calm down.
never mind your propaganda, just get in line you parasitical cunts and take your medicine.
honestly, you won't feel a thing. I can assure you, I am an excellent shot.
and after all, I'm the one who has to wash the walls after your brains have been splattered over them.
you don't hear me moaning, do you?
I just get on with it. now, who's next?

Tory Boy / TW,That is not fair. Guido ran the sto...

2008-03-27T20:46:00.000Z

Tory Boy / TW,

That is not fair. Guido ran the story quoting SpyBlog in good faith. SpyBlog has in the past broken some good stories. After the comment feedback Guido put a caution update on it. Later having read "Head of Legal"'s piece Guido put a further update saying forget it.

That was how it developed. Here for all to see.

Just because you dispute something doesn't mean anything, you always dispute things. On balance am now less convinced by SpyBlog's argument.

If your government didn't lie to us all the fucking time we wouldn't be so bloody cynical about your denials. Would we?

Anon 2:43pm"I think it's terrifying, the power of ...

2008-03-27T20:34:00.000Z

Anon 2:43pm

"I think it's terrifying, the power of the blogosphere to dupe so many people and spread even more cynicism. Guido, Spy Blog, Iain Dale - all of you should do as you so often urge politicians to do, find out the facts, then apologise."

However, the above does also show the power of the blogosphere to correct its errors - the Tory Boys error was pointed out pretty quickly. As for apologies from Guido, Dale, Dizzy and Spy Blog don't hold your breath.

Blanket cynicism and loathing, applied with approp...

2008-03-27T18:27:00.000Z

Blanket cynicism and loathing, applied with appropriate caution.

"But the people working for Parliament routinely d...

2008-03-27T18:02:00.000Z

"But the people working for Parliament routinely do."

Yes! And we need much more of them to stop the government getting everything it wants through - but that'll never happen while everyone lumps in staff costs with the costs of John Lewis bathmats and what have you. Parliament's actually very cheap by international standards, but it's also fairly ineffective - hmmm, could there be a link?

Oh, Guido - your USP's not very unique, is it? But kudos for replying, and I'll stop shouting at you to apologise about spreading the false idea that this law is dangerous. I think you got the picture. Keep up the bad work.

Yes, well - this bill will be scrutinised all over...

2008-03-27T17:29:00.000Z

Yes, well - this bill will be scrutinised all over parliament. just as parliament brought down the genuinely repellent "abolish parliament Bill" 2 years ago. This bill's been published in draft precisely so that lots of committees can read it and suggest amendments in a more generous timescale than they get for most bills. Lords get to look at it too, and they're usually very sharp on technical detail.

It doesn't fit the anti-parliament anti-government zeitgeist, but this is al actually parliamentary democracy working pretty well. The touble is that this is the exception rather than the rule.

Blanket cynicism and loathing is this blog's USP.

2008-03-27T17:28:00.000Z

Blanket cynicism and loathing is this blog's USP.

"The problem is that the people sitting in Parliam...

2008-03-27T17:16:00.000Z

"The problem is that the people sitting in Parliament rarely scruitinise anything remotely technical or obscure".

But the people working for Parliament routinely do.

"My gut feeling is that If the meaning isn't 100% ...

2008-03-27T17:12:00.000Z

"My gut feeling is that If the meaning isn't 100% clear then the bill should go straight to the nearest shredder."

It is 100% clear. And it's a good bill. It devolves powers from the ministers in charge to the civil service and to parliament. It limits political meddling, particularly by the Attorney-General. And it re-allows protests.

Sure, none of this is revolutionary stuff and it could have done much more. Sure, it is legitimate to doubt the motives behind these devolutions of power. But let's have some common sense instead of blanket cynicism and loathing for once on this site.

Well I do feel honoured that my comments have actu...

2008-03-27T17:10:00.000Z

Well I do feel honoured that my comments have actually been read for once and commented on in turn. I was simply expressing my view of what I thought the clause meant, and it turns out other lawyers agree with me. If an bill could not pass because its meaning was not 100% clear to every commentator then nothing would ever pass - a good thing some might say.

The problem is not the powers that Parliament has or does not have. The problem is that the people sitting in Parliament rarely scruitinise anything remotely technical or obscure and exercise the limited rights they do have to prevent abuse by the executive.

However, to all those who thought that this clause is an outrage based on a couple of blog posts by your fav bloggers, in the immortal words of that fat tosser, Michael Winner: "Calm down dear".

Danvers, HeadofLegal etc You may well be right but...

2008-03-27T16:55:00.000Z

Danvers, HeadofLegal etc
You may well be right but years of Spin , downright lies, broken promises,electoral gerrymandering and the use of legislation for purposes beyond it's original intentions has created a climate where nobody should be surprised to see commentators assuming the worst.
Can I trust the current crop of self serving control freaks not to try and wangle some sly wider interpretation when it suits them?
My gut feeling is that If the meaning isn't 100% clear then the bill should go straight to the nearest shredder.
Remember Governments don't like declaring states of emergency
as it is a defacto admission to the outside world that the
country is in a crisis. Far better to "adapt" some earlier opaque piece of legislation slipped quietly through parliament when everybody was too bored to notice.

"Looks something similar to the Abolition of Parli...

2008-03-27T16:36:00.000Z

"Looks something similar to the Abolition of Parliament Act to my untutored eye."

But nothing like it to a tutored eye. It's a standard clause. It's in section 24 (3) of the District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975. it's in the Football (Disorder) Act 2000 (apologies to the posters on Iain Dale I stole these from). IT'S STANDARD.

Come on Guido - where's the apology for misleading your acolytes?

"Peter Carter Fuck, the only thing you save up is ...

2008-03-27T16:35:00.000Z

"Peter Carter Fuck, the only thing you save up is your giro money for your yearly trip to Torremolinos, you fucking effeminate Morris-dancing English cunt."

Dunspunkin:

You are mistaking me for Gary Elsby of Stoke. Don't worry, I won't take offence, I'm just too tired at the moment. Your missus has knackered me, she's a fucking animal, but I suppose that's what happens when she isn't getting any at home.

I don't understand it either.Does it mean that eve...

2008-03-27T16:22:00.000Z

I don't understand it either.Does it mean that even the 1689 Bill of Rights and the act of Settlement can be overturned by decree?A one party state by the "political wing of the British people" is on the way if that is so.Our MPs need to wake up.

SpyBlog is indeed getting this out of proportion: ...

2008-03-27T16:17:00.001Z

SpyBlog is indeed getting this out of proportion: as others have said this clause is of a fairly common type (quite a few of this sessions Bills have clauses like this), and is no big deal. It simply allows amendments that follow as a consequence of the passing of the Bill. Not just any kind of amendments and repeals ministers fancy. Ministers can be judicially reviewed, and their amendments quashed, if they go too far. I blogged about this earlier.

This is verbatim from the Acts explanatory notes:"...

2008-03-27T16:17:00.000Z

This is verbatim from the Acts explanatory notes:

"Clause 43 contains a power to make changes to primary or secondary legislation in consequence of the Bill by order. Subsection (1) provides that the power can be exercised by a Minister of the Crown, or two or more Ministers acting jointly." (My emphasis).

Looks something similar to the Abolition of Parliament Act to my untutored eye.