Religious Hatred Bill: London's Record

By london_will Last edited 217 months ago
Religious Hatred Bill: London's Record
Book burning at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, yesterday.

Hats off to London MPs Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), Rudi Vis (Finchley & Golders Green) and Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), who were among the Labour rebels whose votes aided the defeat of the Religious Hatred bill. This New Labour fatwa was note-perfect Brazil, combining as it did an Orwellian assault on language and freedom with bureaucratic incompetence. File under "I" for "ID Cards".

(On the subject of ID cards and bureaucracy, this story wins "headline of the week".)

Their were also several Labour rebels from London's fringe: Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North), John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington), Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock) and Robert Marshall-Andrews (Medway).

London LibDems and Tories also opposed the bill, but they were whipped into it.

The vote of another London MP deserves to be mentioned - that of George Galloway. Of course, he deserves credit just for showing up, as his voting record is among the very worst in parliament, voting less than any other MP (apart from the speakers, who can't, Sinn Fein, who won't, Mr T Blair (Sedgefield) and a terminally ill MP who has since died). Galloway has presumably overcome his chagrin at being "censored" by Channel Four, because he voted for the bill, a ringing endorsement of censorship. £1500 of your money well spent there!

Poor old George just can't win, since the last time he didn't turn up and was pilloried by his constituents. Politics, eh!

Last Updated 01 February 2006