09.09.11
Further rebellion from Liberal Democrats
Senior Liberal Democrats are planning further opposition against the health reforms next week at the party’s annual conference.
Former MP Evan Harris and Baroness Shirley Williams, who were instrumental in getting the Government to change direction on the reforms, will demand more changes to the Bill because they say the amendments passed in the House of Commons do not go far enough.
Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, said: “There is an underlying unease about the bill amongst my colleagues.”
Today Harris will publish the text of the motion he intends to bring to the conference, after an analysis of voting this week showed that two-thirds of 24 backbench Lib Dem MPs in English seats rebelled against the bill. Of the 24 who were present and eligible for the votes, 16 failed to support the government in at least one of the three main votes at report stage.
Harris, a vice-chair of the party's federal policy committee, said: “The extent of unhappiness on the Lib Dem backbenches, including the party president, Tim Farron, and the deputy leader, Simon Hughes, is a real encouragement to Baroness Shirley Williams and her cross-party colleagues in the Lords as they seek to make major changes to the bill.”
The Health & Social Care Bill passed through the House of Commons on Wednesday with 316 votes to 251 and is expected to go to the House of Lords shortly.
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