Comments on: Update: U.K. Commons revolt on bill curbing religious speech https://www.overlawyered.com/2006/02/update-uk-commons-revolt-on-bill-curbing-religious-speech/ Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Thu, 29 May 2008 15:16:16 +0000 hourly 1 By: Samson Isberg https://www.overlawyered.com/2006/02/update-uk-commons-revolt-on-bill-curbing-religious-speech/comment-page-1/#comment-2096 Sat, 04 Feb 2006 22:01:01 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/wpblog/?p=3064#comment-2096 Thank God.
But the fact that it was such a narrow victory is frightening. That the British of all people should be on the verge of sending their liberies down the drain like that…and now that our Embassy is burning and the staff is fleeing Syria for their lives, Jack Straw goes public all sympathetic to the insulted feelings of the terrorists.
The British has had a narrow escape, but for how long?

]]> By: Ted https://www.overlawyered.com/2006/02/update-uk-commons-revolt-on-bill-curbing-religious-speech/comment-page-1/#comment-2095 Sat, 04 Feb 2006 09:27:57 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/wpblog/?p=3064#comment-2095 This is a much bigger deal than the average American reader might realize, because a prime minister losing a vote happens maybe once or twice a career, because he or she has the hypothetical ability to “whip” members of his or her party into line.

Inside-baseball (inside-cricket?): the bill failed in part because the Tories adopted a tactic of hiding MPs so that Labor wouldn’t have an accurate vote-count. As a result, Labor let some MPs go home (including Blair himself, who’s notorious for never showing up to vote and mingle with common backbenchers), and ended up short a vote. Especially amusing bit: the Tories got the idea from a recently brought episode of “The West Wing.” So we actually have Hollywood liberals to thank for this one.

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