Coalition government faces first defeat as Labour and Tory peers vow to sink referendum

Published on Wednesday 28 July 2010 20:19

FALTERING plans to hold a referendum on voting reform on the same day as the Scottish elections face a double block with both Labour and Tory peers pledging to "massacre" the idea when it comes to the House of Lords.

• Picture: AFP

As Labour's shadow cabinet vowed to vote against the reforms in the Commons, peers said even if the idea still managed to clear the first hurdle, they would seek to defeat it in the Lords.

Labour and Conservative peers, who make up half of the Lords' intake, are pledging to unite in opposition to the timing of the plan, with many also objecting to the principle of a vote on a new voting system.

MPs who oppose the measure said last night that the Lords is where the Government bill allowing it to be staged on May 5 2011 would "grind to a halt".

The Lords could vote against the legislation creating the referendum, forcing it back to the Commons.

That would both create the possibility of another fresh rebellion in the Commons, and leave the Government with even less time to prepare for the vote next spring.

The row now threatens to hand the coalition government its first defeat when it returns to business after the summer break, putting the newly formed pact between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives under severe strain. One Labour peer said last night: "It'll get eviscerated in the Lords. You have the Tories united, right from the likes of Lord Tebbit through to Lord Howe. And Labour is now opposed, too. Both parties are very unhappy about it."

A Labour MP added: "The discussions there are all about how to destroy this in the Lords. If there was a majority of less than 25 in the Commons, then that would embolden the Lords to massacre it, because it would then be obvious that most MPs, apart from those who are whipped, don't want this."

However, the coalition insisted yesterday it was sticking by its plans, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying he remained "confident" of winning the parliamentary vote on the matter.

His comments came despite the fact that Labour now plans to formally oppose the entire voting reform bill which includes the referendum and changes to the country's constituency boundaries.

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A total of 44 Tory MPs are also opposed to the plan to hold the referendum on the same day as regional elections.

And that decision faces a challenge by the Scottish Government which plans to confront UK ministers through the joint ministerial committee, where disputes between the Scottish Government and UK Government can be laid.

Opponents claim that having both ballots on the same day could confuse voters and leave them with mixed messages.

They have been joined in their opposition by figures from both Labour and Conservative benches who are simply opposed to any change to the voting system.

Under the coalition referendum, voters would be asked to change the current first-past-the-post system to an additional vote (AV) set-up, where the electorate ranks candidates in order of preference.

Labour pledged to introduce AV in its manifesto earlier this year. But it will oppose the plan nonetheless, both because of its timing and because the legislation includes plans to change parliamentary boundaries.

It claims the coalition government is trying to "smuggle" through boundary changes which will end up favouring Conservatives.

Prime Minister Mr Cameron yesterday went on the attack over Labour's opposition. He said: "They are the one party who in their manifesto had a commitment to the AV referendum and they are now backtracking on that."

He added: "I know what it is like in opposition. I did almost five years as leader of the opposition. The temptation to jump on the bandwagon and be opportunistic is always there and it should always be resisted."

However, shadow justice secretary Jack Straw said: "If it had just been about the AV referendum, there would have been no difficulty in getting this bill through."

He added: "What they have done is added to this bill their very, very partisan proposals effectively for gerrymandering boundaries."

Mr Straw said that the coalition could have Labour support for the AV referendum legislation "tomorrow" if they split it off from the measures to reshape constituencies.

Labour MPs vehemently opposed to the referendum also say if the timing was changed, they too would have no option but to back the referendum proposal.

If the referendum does not make it through Parliament, disaffection among the Lib Dem rank-and-file over the coalition agreement is likely to grow, especially as the party's support appears to have slumped since the deal was struck.

Mr Cameron appeared to indicate that he would force rebellious MPs on his own side to toe the line on the proposals.

"I am very confident we will hold the referendum," he said. "It was part of the agreement between us and the Liberal Democrats, and it is very important to them."

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes said: "This is staggering hypocrisy from Labour. Labour's shadow cabinet decision is not about principle, it is about naked opportunism. With most of their leadership contenders claiming to back AV, it is astonishing they now wish to block the legislation to make that happen."

Labour leadership candidate Ed Miliband said Mr Cameron had "let the cat out of the bag" by saying that the redrawing of boundaries was agreed "in return" for a referendum on AV.

"He has made a shabby deal of convenience with the Liberal Democrats to rig the boundaries, abolish a say for people in local areas about those boundaries and disenfranchise millions of voters," said Mr Miliband.

"From someone who claims to be for the new politics, this is the oldest form of old, gerrymandering politics.

"As a supporter of AV for the Commons, I believe it is absolutely right we oppose this attempt to use the need for reform as a cover for the low politics of gerrymandering. For the millions threatened to be disenfranchised who are poor, ethnic minorities and young, we must fight these proposals."

Meanwhile, the coalition government is understood to be working to prevent another clash in 2015, when the UK and Scottish Government elections are scheduled to coincide.

A Conservative source said yesterday: "There is a willingness of behalf of the UK Government to avoid the clash in 2015."

The source added: "Potentially, one of the elections would have to move. Of the two debates about the clashing of elections - that is the one (2015] that has the far greater implications. We are confident that a solution can be found."

HOW THE NUMBERS ADD UP

THE parliamentary arithmetic could not be tighter for the fledgling coalition government as it attempts to steer voting reforms through the House of Commons.

If the 44 rebel Conservative MPs join the 256 Labour members and the 25 MPs from the devolved regions, they will outnumber the remaining 318 coalition members by seven. The balance of power will then be held by three Alliance, Green and independent MPs, as well as the Speaker and his three deputies.

Meanwhile, in the House of Lords, the combination of 225 Labour peers and 188 Tories will give them a majority of 52 in the 722-seat Upper House.