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Old 03-03-2016, 04:01 PM #1
Vicky. Vicky. is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 65,045


Vicky. Vicky. is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 65,045


Default What is the point of the house of lords?

I thought it was to block unfair legislations and such, but it appears they can just be completely ignored if whoever is in government decides they want to do it anyway?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...ws-ram-7478566

Quote:
Iain Duncan Smith has vowed to ram through disability benefit cuts tonight despite a stark warning by his own human rights watchdog.

The top Tory vented his fury at being blocked for a second time by the House of Lords in his bid to cut Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 a week.

A letter he sent to Tory MPs yesterday, obtained by the Mirror, warned them to "strongly resist" the Lords' changes and accused peers of "an abuse of Parliamentary process" ahead of a House of Commons vote tonight.

The Work and Pensions Secretary warned blocking the cut would cost the government £1.3billion and raged: "The Commons as the elected chamber must now have the final say."

The 'abuse of process' claim appears to contradict his department's own spin doctors, who said the Lords vote was a "routine part of the legislative process".

And his stubborn missive came despite the government's own human rights watchdog warning he needed more evidence about how the cuts will hit the disabled or mentally ill.
So why do we have them?

Last edited by Vicky.; 03-03-2016 at 04:03 PM.
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