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In the House of Lords we're on speaker 23 of 127 in the second reading debate on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill
Actually two speakers have withdrawn. 102 to go then. Woohoo.
Lord Cormack is speaking down a line which has the kind of sound quality I'd associate with archive footage of the 1970 World Cup
Lord Cormack lives, I believe, in Lincoln which explains the quality of his broadband
Lord Bilimoria is...somewhere where it is light and warm enough to be contributing to the debate from outdoors!
We've just had Lord Davies of Gower followed by Lord Davies of Brixton #Davies
In his office Michael Howard has not only his ministerial red boxes BUT ALSO a load of Hansards
Are you allowed to keep your ministerial boxes when you leave office???
[everyone watching this debate] noting with regret what a load of complete clowns [peers I disagree with] are, but good to hear some good sense from [peers I agree with]
Norman Lamont opens his speech: "my Lords, at this stage everything that can be said, has been said, but not by everybody"
Lord True, winding up for the government, is giving us a potted history of Brexit. Good that this little known and little studied process is getting an airing.
Anyway first vote in the Lords currently ongoing, on the Lab "reasoned amendment" to the bill
ok and we're now voting on a Lib Dem amendment at the very last stage of the bill which the Lords annunicator has officially deemed "fatal"
We? They are voting. I am not voting.
Lib Dem fatal amendment defeated 466 to 101, or 365 votes
And the bill has now passed. Gotta wait for the Queen
Thinking about how bonkers this whole process has been and how it ends* with, uh, us waiting around for the Queen after midnight on New Year's Eve in the middle of a pandemic
* may not be the end of the process, terms and conditions apply
* may not be the end of the process, terms and conditions apply
Personal Brexit highlights? The Bob Geldof boat confrontation, the fake prorogation, Stop Brexit Steve having inside knowledge of where and when all interviews were being conducted in Westminster so he could shout at them, the protests...
...GET THAT LIE OFF YOUR BUS, red white and blue Brexit, the People’s Vote implosion, the @BBCParliament theme tune, the Queen’s subtle messages of support/opposition conveyed via The Sun/hats worn on special occasions, spider brooch, that bell that someone had on College Green..
...I suggest the Hon Gentleman takes a sooooothing medicament, that weekend David “Lidders” Liddington was going to be prime minister, every hypothetical Government of National Unity (all of which were aimed at doing something not very unifying), the “side letter”...
And there’s Royal Assent. Truly, it has been A Time
