Category: Other issues

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” →

Inaccurate report in The National newspaper – Trans people in prison

Published on by greenlordsmedia

I was inaccurately quoted in The National newspaper on 26th January regarding a debate in the Lords on Amendment 97 to the Policing Bill. The newspaper appears to have picked up a report from social media without checking with Hansard and some in the Scottish Green Party may have believed this quote reflected what I said.

Continue reading “Inaccurate report in The National newspaper – Trans people in prison” →

Met Police must explain Gray report censorship

Published on by greenlordsmedia

In response to the Met Police request for the Sue Gray report to ‘minimise’ references to parties at Number 10, Baroness Jenny Jones said:

“The Met Police need to explain why they want key details of the Sue Gray report to be censored, unless they have an expectation that there will be a jury trial as a result of the investigation and it would be prejudicial. The failure of the Met Police to start their investigation weeks ago raIsed suspicions that they were shielding the Prime Minister. By launching an investigation just before Sue Gray’s report is due out and then requesting she delete the majority of the references to the parties at Number 10, they are compounding those suspicions. Unless the Met Police can provide a clear reason why the detailed information should not be made public then I think the report should be published in full, or it will be seen as partial and incomplete.”

Lords debate concerns over lack of publicity for Highway Code changes

Published on by greenlordsmedia

Green Party Baroness, Jenny Jones, is putting a motion of regret that will be debated in the Lords Thursday, 27th January. The motion reads:

“to move that this House regrets the draft Revision of the Highway Code because, despite making important changes to protect road users from harm, Her Majesty’s Government has failed sufficiently to educate the public on the changes.”

Jenny is worried that the lack of publicity for the changes will lead to conflicts between drivers who are unaware of the new rules and pedestrians/cyclists who are asserting their rights under the new guidance.

View the motion here

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” →

Greens celebrate House of Lords defeat of draconian government ideas

Published on by greenlordsmedia

The House of Lords inflicted a staggering 14 defeats on the government in one historic evening, with a further 5 government amendments being withdrawn.

The Lords seized their chance to reject most of the 18 pages of late government amendments to the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill. This forces Ministers to either drop these proposals or bring them back in completely separate legislation at a later date. The Lords only have this power on very rare occasions because the government introduced the amendments late and by-passed scrutiny in the commons.

Continue reading “Greens celebrate House of Lords defeat of draconian government ideas” →

Police Bill: Monday vote explained

Published on by greenlordsmedia

Since the last General Election gave the Conservative Party an 80+ seat majority of MPs in the Commons, they have pushed through some bad legislation. When these Bills come to the Lords, it’s our job to look at them line by line and try to improve them by carefully considered amendments. Which mostly the Tory-dominated Commons immediately throw out*.

Continue reading “Police Bill: Monday vote explained” →

Is your British citizenship in the public interest?

Published on by greenlordsmedia

We now have a two tier system of British citizenship and if the Nationality and Borders Bill is published then millions are under threat of having their rights removed “without notice” by a Minister acting “in the public interest”. You can then appeal against deportation retrospectively, i.e. once you are out the country.

A lot of people will be surprised to learn that the Government already can—and do—remove people’s right to British citizenship. That is not new, but it means there is a two-tier system of British citizenship. The change is that the Government will now be able to remove people’s citizenship without any notice or warning whatever. The term “otherwise in the public interest” is so broad a discretion as to be almost meaningless. The Secretary of State can basically choose not to give notice on a whim. Of course, because citizenship will have been revoked without any notice, any judicial review or other legal challenge will only be able to be brought retrospectively.

In summary, the Bill is a continuation of the trend by this Government to remove individuals’ rights, undermine legal safeguards and view the legal profession as the enemy within.

Recharge those batteries, then lobby on Police Bill

Published on by greenlordsmedia

Have a good festive break and stay safe from whichever Covid variant is near you. Recharge those batteries because we are going to need your help defeating the 18 pages of draconian laws that the government submitted as late amendments to the Police and Crime Bill.

Continue reading “Recharge those batteries, then lobby on Police Bill” →