Views
It all rests on nine votes and 42 days - for The Inverness Courier
LAST week, business at Westminster was dominated by the tight vote on controversial plans for 42-day detention without charge.
The plans — which hark back to Tony Blair's earlier attempt to set the figure at 90 days — have assumed dramatic importance in the context of the continual air of crisis which now surrounds Gordon Brown's government.
As Courier readers will know by now, the Commons voted for 42 days — but only by the narrowest of margins. Nine votes saved the day for the prime minister, matching the nine Democratic Unionist Party members who the government spent the weeks before the vote conspicuously courting.
There have been paper-thin denials of a secret deal from both Downing Street and the DUP leadership.
I regret to report that there are few at Westminster on either side who believe that last week's victory was won by the strength of the argument and not bought by promises of future generosity to Northern Ireland's devolved administration.
Even so, the argument will continue. The likelihood of the 42-day proposal being approved by the House of Lords is vanishingly small. If Gordon Brown is genuinely determined to press ahead, he may have to use the Parliament Act to over-rule the second chamber — and that will take time, and more tight votes to come.
The issue at stake is a very fundamental one, and we should not abandon it lightly. It is sobering that — by virtue of an earlier compromise with parliament — the government can already detain individuals for 28 days without telling them the reasons they are held, and potentially without ever bringing any charges against them.
That puts the state in an extraordinarily powerful position with respect to each of us. Its extension requires very clear justification, and none was forthcoming from ministers in parliament last week.
There is a strong hint that the whole policy is more about posturing than principle. That is a dangerous game for politicians to indulge in.
As our intervention in Iraq has shown, ill-judged action for the sake of appearances will not make us safer.
FUEL POVERTY PACKAGE
The previous week's big news should have been a crucial announcement on ministers' plans to tackle fuel poverty.
In our present economic circumstances, and with energy prices spiralling, there is an overwhelming need for strong action from the government to protect the poorest households from facing the unacceptable choice between a warm home and food on the table next winter.
The policy unveiled failed to scratch the surface. While big energy companies have just been allowed to pocket an enormous £9 billion windfall through the launch of the Emissions Trading Scheme, in addition to record profits, the government has failed to secure the protection needed for their most vulnerable customers.
One of the biggest things totally missing from the plans unveiled was action for those who rely on domestic heating oil — where the rise in prices has been highest and consumers are unprotected by regulation. That is a situation which cannot be ignored.
I will be working hard to get the governments at Holyrood and Westminster to work together and take the action that is needed.
FATHERS MATTER
I was pleased on Friday to help HAPIS — Highland Antenatal and Postnatal Illness Support — launch a new initiative to highlight the role fathers play in supporting their partners before and after the birth of a child, and to raise their awareness of postnatal depression in particular.
Dads are often uniquely well placed to see the signs, and help their partners find support as early as possible. I hope that the new leaflet which HAPIS has produced will enable even more of them to do just that.
Posted on: 17/06/2008
