Wednesday 21st October
The migrant crisis really is just
getting worse. There was a full two minute piece about it on the news, and we
saw these poor people being herded about the place, all hopeful and expectant,
and then being told by a man to go home, and they wept and they wailed. It was
a real scene of human misery.
Later, it transpired that this
was actually about the cancellation of a One Direction gig. Two minutes
coverage on the lunchtime news. The arrival of 114 people on boats at a British
base in Cyprus received a cursory mention. Proportionate news broadcasting at
its best.
Meanwhile, Wednesday brought
another round of Prime Minister’s Questions and Jeremy Corbyn delivered his
most assured performance yet, but whenever he had Cameron unsettled, he changed
subject.
Tax credits featured heavily, but
only one man has identified the real issue. As ever, the matter has only been
truly analysed by the searing, contemporary scrutiny of Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Yes, the Member for the 19th
Century is worried about the widespread speculation that the House of Lords
will chuck out the credit cuts, despite the fact that the Commons has now
backed the plans twice.
Now, the Tories don’t have a
majority in the Lords, and opposition Peers feel they are entitled to vote
against the measure because:
a) it wasn’t in the Tory
manifesto, and
b) the piece was introduced as
secondary legislation, rather than a finance bill.
On Back to the Future Day, Rees-Mogg’s question took us back to 1678,
and led to accusations that he was being “disingenuous” with his critiques of “the
other place”.
However, it does seem like a
delicious irony that the left may end up thanking their lucky stars when the
deliverance from tax credit cuts comes from the House of Lords.
After all, it’s an anachronistic and
undemocratic institution: but it works!
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