Carmichael wins emergency debate on government abuse of power

Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael has won an emergency debate in the House of Commons later today over whether the government is abusing parliamentary process. This follows opposition day motions on public sector pay and tuition fees, where both motions passed without division and were then ignored by the government. Alistair Carmichael said: “It was known that in the event of a division, the DUP would vote against the government and the government would lose. Ministers took the view that these votes could be ignored - as they have subsequently done. “The Leader of the House did not deny that this would become the tactic of the government when I challenged her. “It has long been the practice of governments to respect the views of the House expressed in this way, and to right wrongs, such as over the Gurkha residency question in 2009. “To ignore votes in the House is an abuse of process and is to relegate this parliament to a talking shop rather than as the place in our nation’s life where decisions of note are made.”