beau2ifulday
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Perhaps this should be in the war section - if so Mods, please move it and I apologise.
I'm not sure of the opinions of people in here about the laws Blair wanted, but i'd certainly be interested to hear what you thought of them and how you feel about this outcome.
I'm not sure of the opinions of people in here about the laws Blair wanted, but i'd certainly be interested to hear what you thought of them and how you feel about this outcome.
Parliament hands Blair stinging defeat
Wed Nov 9, 2005 5:57 PM GMT14
By Mike Peacock
LONDON (Reuters) - Tony Blair suffered his first major parliamentary defeat as prime minister on Wednesday over new counter-terrorist powers, raising fresh questions about his authority.
The House of Commons voted by 322 to 291 against plans to let police hold terrorist suspects for up to 90 days without charge, as about 40 Labour MPs refused to support him.
Blair had dramatically recalled his two top ministers -- Chancellor Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw -- from abroad in a bid to avoid defeat, but to no avail.
Police called for the new powers after Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 people in London on July 7. Critics say they powers would be a huge infringement of civil liberties.
Parliamentarians later voted in favour of a much lower, 28-day detention limit, up from 14 now.
Blair had earlier put his personal authority on the line, telling MPs it was their "duty" to support the measure.
"We are living in a country that faces a real and serious threat of terrorism -- terrorism that wants ... to inflict casualties on us without limit," he said.
"I appeal to the House to have some responsibility here."
Not enough of his supporters listened.
The financial markets reacted swiftly to his defeat, with the pound dropping nearly a 1/2 cent against the dollar after the vote.
"It highlights the weakness of Blair's leadership and increases the risk on UK assets but like most political events of the past year, the impact is likely to be short-lived," said Adam Cole, senior currency strategist of RBC Capital Markets of the pound's fall.
WANING POWER?
An election in May slashed Blair's parliamentary majority to 66, about 100 less than he has been used to, meaning fewer than 40 Labour MPs can defeat him by voting with the combined ranks of the opposition.
Many say his decision not to fight another election has weakened his authority. The decision to recall Brown from the Middle East will reinforce the view that he is increasingly reliant on his likely successor.
Richard Wyn Jones, political expert at Aberystwyth University, said Blair's standing had definitely taken a hit.
"If 40 Labour members voted against him when the chips are down, when he's called in all the favours, twisted all the arms, that really does kick his authority," he said.
Police say they needed 90 days because investigations into terrorism can take considerable time, often involving international checks and the decoding of vast amounts of encrypted electronic data.
Conservative leader Michael Howard said that risked acting as a recruitment sergeant for militants.
"We all want to fight terrorism effectively but you don't have to look very far beyond our shores to see what happens if you alienate minority communities," he said in parliament, referring to days of rioting in France.
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