Go, Grogan, go!

In reference to the stories (src) that the deplorable Digital Economy Bill will be pushed through Parliament's 'wash up' period (when the Government and Official Opposition co-operate to get unfinished business through), John Grogan (Lab, Selby) [1] asks Harriet Harman in Parliament:

In my right hon. and learned Friend's role as one of the primary defenders of the democracy of the House, would she personally be content if the highly controversial Digital Economy Bill, much influenced by lobbyists during its passage through another place, were to be rushed through this elected House of Commons on Easter Tuesday-a day, my sources tell me, when hon. Members might well have other things on their minds-and then rushed through all its final stages in a couple of hours the following day, without proper scrutiny? (src)

Good man. Not that he got a very good answer, naturally.

Douglas Hogg (Con, Sleaford) asks for a debate on the democratic legitimacy of the wash-up period, to murmurs of 'hear, hear' from sedentary Members:

May we have an early debate entitled "The Wash-up Period"? That would enable right hon. and hon. Members to express the view that during the wash-up period, we should not be enacting legislation that has not been fully discussed in both Houses. (src)

I'm also surprised that it exists at all, to be honest, given the highly adversarial nature of the Westminster system. (Hand-wringers who want our politics to be 'nicer' and more consensual, take note!) There are three kinds of bill: those which are approved without too much fuss, those where the opposition accepts the principle but disapproves of the detail, and those where they disapprove of the principle. But if you even dislike the detail, surely you should be willing to force the government to drop the bill rather than enact bad legislation?

[1] Who, contrary to my confused indications on Wednesday, is my current MP. I have moved around York a fair bit, and hopped between Grogan and Bayley more times than I care to recall.