Bleak outlook for bugging Bill in jeopardy
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Your support makes all the difference.The controversial Police Bill could be in jeopardy after a Commons decision to wipe out the government majority on important legislative committees.
The Bill, giving new "bugging and burglary" powers, suffered two defeats in the Lords this week and has still to go to the Commons. But it emerged yesterday that some Conservative MPs are as opposed to the new police powers as the peers - and the whips anticipate a Commons revolt.
Given the loss of the overall government majority in the Commons, and the reflection of that in legislative committees, John Major faces increasing problems with his legislative programme in the run-up to the election.
Another threat to proposed legislation was announced yesterday by the Ulster Unionists and the Scottish Nationalists, who are combining to oppose the doubling of air-passenger duty announced in the Budget.
There was speculation yesterday that a Finance Bill defeat on that issue could prompt a vote of confidence, and force an early election. But defeat on the pounds 125m air-passenger duty is not - by itself - important enough to trigger a vote of confidence.
As Margaret Thatcher said in a confidence debate in March 1976 - after the Labour government had been defeated on its public spending plans - "Governments have been defeated on single clauses in the past ... No one has suggested that these were resigning matters ... But when there is a defeat on a matter central to the historic nature of the power of the House of Commons over the Executive, that is a resigning matter."
The Government won that vote of confidence, and remained in office until it lost another vote of confidence in March 1979.
The risk of defeat for Mr Major on significant issues, like the Police Bill, is worrying the whips, because the last thing the Prime Minister wants is to be forced into an election through defeat on a vote of confidence. While Mr Major is retaining flexibility for a 1 May election, there is a strong cross-party view building up for 10 April, when many students will be on holiday, and away from marginal Tory constituencies in university towns.
The latest date for dissolution of Parliament for a 10 April election would be 12 March.
Yesterday, in an address to Labour candidates, Tony Blair said the Tories were in a state of panic. "They are in such a state that anything could happen to bring the general election forward."
He also warned that if the Conservatives were re-elected, they would feel free to stop at nothing. "They'll think they're living in a one-party state where they could do and say anything that they want at all."
John Prescott told the same London meeting: "The Tories will stop at nothing to cling on to power and if they win again, they'll certainly stop at nothing."
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