Author: jonesjb

Nationality and Borders Bill Committee Stage Day 3: Refugees

Published on by jonesjb

Asylum seekers should be allowed to work, banning people from working is just one of the many ways that the Government dehumanise and punish asylum seekers. Why would we not want them to work? Why would we not want them to play a role in society? Why would we not want to engage them and get them out of the probably dreadful accommodation that they are living in? Where is the logic in not letting them work? It will leave them destitute, which is not healthy for them or for us. Continue reading “Nationality and Borders Bill Committee Stage Day 3: Refugees” →

Nationality and Borders Bill Committee Stage Days 1&2: Refugees

Published on by jonesjb

We have a moral duty to take refugees. A lot of these refugees are coming from countries we have invaded, or where we have interfered or done all sorts of things, whether it is burning too much fossil fuel, causing climate change, or destabilising their Governments. It is all very well referring to population density and so on, but we owe these people and we should never forget that. We should also be making it as easy as possible for children to obtain a nationality if they are already stateless. Continue reading “Nationality and Borders Bill Committee Stage Days 1&2: Refugees” →

The Subsidy Control Bill Committee Stage Day One: Net Zero

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The Government keep bringing us these thin Bills that ought to include things such as the ecological crisis and climate change, but do not. The subsidy principle should ensure that all our environmental and climate targets are met. Ecologically damaging, polluting industries should be weaned off public money completely and, ultimately, binned. My Amendment 8 would ensure that subsidies contribute towards limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees centigrade of warming. My Amendment 33 would prohibit subsidies for fossil fuels and extend the definition of fossil fuel subsidies to include any government policy that makes fossil fuels cheaper than their true cost. Continue reading “The Subsidy Control Bill Committee Stage Day One: Net Zero” →

The Subsidy Control Bill Committee Stage Day One: Scottish devolution amendments

Published on by jonesjb

In the Scottish independence referendum, the people of Scotland were promised devo-max. They received no such thing and then Brexit came along and gave this Government an excuse to steadily unpick devolution and centralise power in the UK Government. These amendments allow the Senedd Cymru and the Scottish Parliament actually to decide issues for themselves. The legislation itself is deeply annoying because this should be standard in every Bill. Continue reading “The Subsidy Control Bill Committee Stage Day One: Scottish devolution amendments” →

Highway code changes

Published on by jonesjb

In 2018, a staggering 540 people were injured or killed every week in Britain. That is the most phenomenal cost in all sorts of ways. It costs the NHS; it costs the emergency services; it costs social services to mop up after these collisions and injuries, some of which of course are life-changing. We have lawless roads, and the reason for that is that road crime is not treated in the same way as regular crime. The problem is that many drivers will pay as much attention to these changes in the Highway Code and the guidelines as Boris Johnson did to the Covid rules. Continue reading “Highway code changes” →

Third Reading of the Police Bill: Last word

Published on by jonesjb

I have hated almost every minute we spent on this Bill over the days, weeks and months. I deeply regret that it will pass. I wish it had not been presented in the first place and I wish we had not been forced to let it through, but it has been historic. One of the things that has been historic is the united opposition to some of its worst parts. That is something the House can be proud of Continue reading “Third Reading of the Police Bill: Last word” →

Repeal of the Vagrancy Act

Published on by jonesjb

The Vagrancy Act is relic of an age when being homeless was a crime, it made it a criminal offence to beg or be homeless on the street in England and Wales. The law was passed in the summer of 1824.

One of my favourite podcast interviews in the Jen’s Green Jam series was with Lord Bird, founder of the Big Issue. He spoke then about getting rid of the Vagrancy Act and afterwards, I was left wondering if it was one of those issues that had to wait for a change of government. Continue reading “Repeal of the Vagrancy Act” →

Police Bill Report Stage Day 4

Published on by jonesjb

I am very concerned about the Government undermining the doctrine that police on these islands gain their authority from the consent of the governed. Overuse of stop and search powers has deeply undermined community consent in many areas of the country and there are racial and socioeconomic disparities in who gets targeted by the police. These government severe violence reduction orders will create a new suspicionless stop and search power, and once a person is issued with one of these orders they could face unlimited interference from police officers. There should not be a power for the police to search without reasonable suspicion. Continue reading “Police Bill Report Stage Day 4” →