Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/464860
AGRICULTURE EDITION 57 REVIEW OF PARLIAMENT | He said the failure to consult the British people about the UK's relationship with the EU was a failure by the entire political class, which he said had 'flipped and flopped like a hooked fish dragged out on to the riverbank'. Lord Lipsey intervened: 'Many of us are not against a referendum; I myself am strongly in favour of one. We are against this dog's dinner of a Bill, which requires improvement by every side of this house.' Lord Dobbs' retort had a note of weariness: 'The noble Lord has made his point, again. I think that it is a point that he made last week in committee, and I suspect that we may hear more of it again today … but there comes a point when all these nostrums about parliamentary sovereignty require a dose of carbolic and common sense, when we need to find a democratic balance.' He added that it would be most unwise of parliament to ignore the demands of the people. In the end it came down to time. When Lord Lipsey rose to move the closure of the day's committee-stage debate, the government chief whip Lady Anelay retorted that if this debate was ended she would not allocate any further days for debate. 'The house itself will have collectively indicated that it no longer wishes to consider the committee stage. If the house disagrees the Motion, I will take that as a desirable, clear indication that we should complete the remainder of the committee stage today.' In effect, she said, Lord Lipsey's motion would lead to a vote on whether or not peers wanted to kill the Bill altogether. And by 180 votes to 130, peers voted to close the committee stage. The Bill was run aground. It was the final scene of this particular drama – but the Bill has been revived in the 2014–2015 session of parliament. So there will be a sequel. Conservative Peer Michael Dobbs