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» Thursday, November 2, 2006

House votes on November 1

He was asked if he was content with the outcome of the voting on various House matters yesterday. The Leader said he was particularly pleased at the changes made in the legislative process and the manner of dealing with Bills. These were very important. They would greatly improve the way in which the Commons was able to scrutinize legislation and improve the way Ministers were held to account by the Commons on measures. He said that, on the issue of the communications allowance, one member of the Opposition, who had supported the Leader's motion, had said that one advantage of it would be to cap overall spending by MPs on communications, including stationery. Mr Straw pointed out that the motion had been put forward after much discussion within the all-party institutions of the House. The matter would now return to the Members Estimates Committee for consideration and then be brought back before MPs for approval or not. On September sittings, Mr Straw said he had changed his mind from his initial support for their retention. It was very important to understand that it was not about shortening the Parliamentary year; it was about how it was used.

Briefing took place at 14:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Syria

Asked if we concurred with the US that Syria was trying to destabilise and topple the government in Lebanon bearing in mind the talks that had taken place there recently, the PMOS said in terms of Syria, Syria had a choice. It could either play a constructive role or destructive role. Part of the judgement as to which of those roles it was playing was its attitude to the democratically elected government of Lebanon, and respecting the democracy in Lebanon. It was up to Syria what choice it would make.

Briefing took place at 14:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Other

Asked about the arrangements for the election of the Speaker in future, Mr Straw said that was entirely was matter for the House. He also declined to comment also in response to a question about party deputy leadership candidates.

Briefing took place at 14:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Cabinet

Asked what was discussed in Cabinet the PMOS said that there was a presentation by Dr John Reid on ID cards, which was part of series of selected subjects for Cabinet and an overview of those. What was stressed was, in terms of the modern world, the need to prove and protect your identity had becomes an ever-greater reality. We were increasingly being asked to prove our identity but also wanted to protect ourselves and our identities. Worldwide more and more countries were adopting biometric passports and demanding from those who wanted to visit those countries to have biometric passports as well. Asked by the Chairman of the Lobby if it was still the Government's intention to force foreign nationals living in the UK to carry the ID cards first as a pilot scheme the PMOS replied that we believed that people like him had to be kept an eye on.

Briefing took place at 14:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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» Thursday, November 2, 2006

House votes on November 1

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