Christians cheered by Government detention defeat
-10/11/05
Many Christians in the UK w
Christians cheered by Government detention defeat
-10/11/05
Many Christians in the UK will today be cheering last night’s defeat in the House of Commons of the Government’s 90-day detention plan.
The Methodist Church, Anglican bishops and the religious thinktank Ekklesia are amongst those who have previously expressed Christian concerns about the Government’s anti-terror strategy. Alternative approaches have instead been suggested.
Last night MPs defeated the government’s 90-day detention plan by 322 votes to 291, with 49 Labour MPs rebelling against Tony Blair.
It is the first Commons defeat for Blair since he came to power in 1997, and leads most of today’s papers to question whether he can now remain in Number 10.
The bigger than expected scale of the defeat also raises questions about whether forthcoming welfare, education and NHS reforms can be carried by the government.
But Blair was defiant after the vote, saying his opponents had acted in a “deeply irresponsible manner”.
His view is shared by the Sun, which uses its front page to brand as “traitors” the MPs who “betray” the public.
But elsewhere, the headlines are unremittingly negative for the prime minister.
The FT says “Blair suffers blow to power”, the Express questions whether he is “on his way out”, the Telegraph says it was his “blackest day” and the Times suggests it is the “beginning of the end” – a view echoed in the Mail.
The Mirror suggests Cherie should “start packing” while the Independent front page carries an image of the moment the result was announced in the Commons and the headline: “The moment Tony Blair lost his authority.”
The feeling of a loss of control was compounded by the Conservatives, with leader Michael Howard saying the Prime Minister should consider resigning.
Tony Blair hosts the weekly meeting of Cabinet ministers at Number 10 today. The Prime Minister is expected to tell his senior colleagues they should get on with “business as usual”, and also meets police and the security services to discuss yesterday’s defeat.
Christians cheered by Government detention defeat
-10/11/05
Many Christians in the UK will today be cheering last night’s defeat in the House of Commons of the Government’s 90-day detention plan.
The Methodist Church, Anglican bishops and the religious thinktank Ekklesia are amongst those who have previously expressed Christian concerns about the Government’s anti-terror strategy. Alternative approaches have instead been suggested.
Last night MPs defeated the government’s 90-day detention plan by 322 votes to 291, with 49 Labour MPs rebelling against Tony Blair.
It is the first Commons defeat for Blair since he came to power in 1997, and leads most of today’s papers to question whether he can now remain in Number 10.
The bigger than expected scale of the defeat also raises questions about whether forthcoming welfare, education and NHS reforms can be carried by the government.
But Blair was defiant after the vote, saying his opponents had acted in a “deeply irresponsible manner”.
His view is shared by the Sun, which uses its front page to brand as “traitors” the MPs who “betray” the public.
But elsewhere, the headlines are unremittingly negative for the prime minister.
The FT says “Blair suffers blow to power”, the Express questions whether he is “on his way out”, the Telegraph says it was his “blackest day” and the Times suggests it is the “beginning of the end” – a view echoed in the Mail.
The Mirror suggests Cherie should “start packing” while the Independent front page carries an image of the moment the result was announced in the Commons and the headline: “The moment Tony Blair lost his authority.”
The feeling of a loss of control was compounded by the Conservatives, with leader Michael Howard saying the Prime Minister should consider resigning.
Tony Blair hosts the weekly meeting of Cabinet ministers at Number 10 today. The Prime Minister is expected to tell his senior colleagues they should get on with “business as usual”, and also meets police and the security services to discuss yesterday’s defeat.