Parliament v Government

Yesterday's debate on the Damien Green affair was intended by the government to achieve three things:

1) Avoid a discussion of the speaker and his failings - the government does not want a by-election in Glasgow at the present time, as he would have to be "kicked upstairs".

2) Limit discussion to three hours, to minimise embarrassment

3) Head off a free, not government-controlled investigation and not one under the Speaker's chairmanship. By this means they could control the agenda and progress, and cover up what they want concealed. Most important, they could delay almost indefinitely until the whole affair was forgotten by most members.

In the event they achieved the first two completely, - the opposition parties even "soft soaping" the speaker in complementing him on his original proposals. The third objective they also seemed to have achieved narrowly, with 37 labour MPs voting against their whips instructions. If the Ulster Unionists of various kinds and LibDems had been fully present the government would have lost. But this is history now.

Subsequently two things have happened, however which snatch victory from the government.

a) The LibDems and Tories have stated that they will not take part in the mockery suggested by the government, so it is effectively dead.

b) The Home Affairs Committee under the chairmanship of Keith Vaz, - one of the Labour rebels yesterday, has decided to hold their own enquiry. There were murmurings about this before yesterday's travesty. It will have a labour majority and labour chairman, but it has power to summon people involved and put them under oath, - police, ministers, civil servants. They should be able to ask pertinent questions. If the government tries to stultify its progress, committee members from opposition parties will be able to publish a dissenting report or otherwise publicise shenanigans.

The end result is that we have a police investigation into the police under a chairman who is from the Met previously, (and who may be a candidate?). This will have a check via the findings of the public Affairs Committee. Not ideal but, given the government's concern to override the House of Commons, perhaps the best we could hope for.