Clear the Lobby: What laws are MPs voting on this week (w/c 28 October)?

Welcome to our weekly feature courtesy of Sebastian Salek, the brains behind Clear the Lobby, working to bring you all the laws MPs are voting on this week, and explained in plain English!

The state of play

Boris Johnson wants an election on 12 December.

The Lib Dems and the SNP want an election on 9 December, as long as the EU has granted a three-month election. They think the earlier date means Johnson can’t bring back his Brexit deal before the campaign starts.

But the plan has been written off by both Labour and the Tories…

So it’s probably going nowhere.

Now what?

MPs vote on Johnson’s election proposal on Monday.

It’ll be his third attempt, but he probably won’t get lucky. Labour still isn’t buying it, which means it wouldn’t get the two-thirds support needed to pass.

Once that’s over, the EU will announce how long a Brexit delay it’s offering.

France’s Emmanuel Macron is reportedly being difficult, favouring a shorter extension than the three months stated in the Benn Act. He wants MPs to pass Johnson’s deal so he can move on from Brexit and talk about other things.

“Say it’s carol singers”

Winter elections are rare. As in, haven’t-had-one-since-1974 rare.

There are lots of issues to consider, like any impact on turnout, whether people will be distracted by Christmas, and limited campaigning time because of shorter days.

We talked through some of them on Friday’s episode of Bloomberg Westminster.

All in favour, say “aye”

There are literally thousands of you reading this each week.

It made me wonder whether there’s scope for creating a private Facebook group where we can chat about politics and learn from each other in a welcoming and inclusive environment (gasp).

Would you be up for that?

If so, please click here so I can gauge interest.

Have a great week,

Sebastian

MONDAY 28 OCTOBER

Vote on early general election

Environment Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Provides the legal framework for environmental governance after Brexit. Introduces a range of measures that aim to improve the environment, including: enabling charges for single-use plastic items, allowing deposit return schemes (where you pay a bit extra for items like bottled drinks, but recoup that amount when the bottle is returned), and standardising what items can be collected for recycling by local authorities in England.
Draft bill / Commons library briefing

TUESDAY 29 OCTOBER

Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales
Increases the maximum prison sentence from six months to five years for some animalwelfare offences: causing ‘unnecessary suffering’ to an animal, performing an unpermitted mutilation, illegally docking the tail of a dog, poisoning an animal, and being involved in an animal fight. Reintroduced from last parliamentary session.
Draft bill / Commons library briefing

WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER

No votes scheduled

THURSDAY 31 OCTOBER

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER

No votes scheduled

LAST WEEK’S VOTES

Passed

• European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill – passed second reading, but paused

Postponed

• Environment Bill – postponed until Monday (see above)

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