It is a sign of the extent to which the financial crisis is dominating the news that the Lords voting down 42 days by a huge margin, 309 to 188, is not a headline-grabbing story. Jacqui Smith will, The Guardian reports, make a statement at 8.30pm in the Commons. It is expected that she will announce that the government will drop the 42 days clause from the bill but prepare separate legislation for if it is required in an emergency.
The legislative language around 42 days was a dog’s dinner; one left-wing Labour MP even told his fellow backbenchers to vote for it because the bill was so badly drafted that the provision could never be used. So, it is a good thing that this botched effort is been withdrawn.
Gordon Brown will be glad that the financial crisis will cover up his climb down on a measure that he described as “the
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