UK news: Nigel Beard's Lighter Evenings Bill fails

[Peter Ilieve]

Nigel Beard's ten minute rule Lighter Evenings Bill came up for its second
reading on Friday. The Hansard report is at 15 Oct 2004 Column 594:
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/cm041015/
debtext/41015-19.htm#41015-19_head0>.

The bit covering the Lighter Evening Bill is short enough to quote
in full:

                    LIGHTER EVENINGS BILL

  Order for Second Reading read.

  Hon. Members: Object.

  To be read a Second time on Friday 5 November.

Parliamentary procedure for bills like this is that a single member
shouting Object is sufficient to kill it off. Rational debate it ain't.
The bit about reading it again on 5 Nov is fairly meaningless. The
house won't actually be sitting on that day. Nigel chose a date in
the near future rather than giving up just in case some emergency
arises that means the house would sit on that day. It's vanishingly
unlikely that it will, and even if it does no doubt the Hon. Members
would Object again.

There was some reporting of this proposal in the Scottish papers
early last week. Nigel wrote a letter to the Sunday Herald setting
out his case. This appeared in the news section and is available at:
<http://www.sundayherald.com/45353>. By the time this appeared
the Bill had already been lost. I'm surprised the Herald didn't
note this.

So that's it for this latest attempt to fiddle with the clocks here
in the UK.


		Peter Ilieve		peter at aldie.co.uk