Gagging law: we’re in ping pong!

A quick update on the Parliamentary process:

The government’s plan to clamp down on what charities and campaigning groups and ordinary people can speak out about at elections (the gagging law) is almost UK law – almost. It’s been through the House of Commons once, and through the House of Lords once, and now it’s bouncing back and forth between MPs and Lords in a process known as ‘ping pong’.

For draft laws to become part of the UK’s statute book, MPs and Lords have to agree. Over the last few months, Lords have made substantial and important changes to the gagging law – fixing lots of the worst bits. Last Tuesday 21st Jan, they sent an improved version of the gagging law back to MPs. But on Wednesday 22nd, MPs overturned their two most critical decisions (on how much staff costs would count towards reduced spending limits, and on what kind of activity could be regulated in individual constituencies).

So this week, on Tuesday 28th January, Lords have the chance to decide whether or not to overturn MPs and put their improvements back in.

To find out more about the ping pong process, click here.

And to find out what 38 Degrees members, hundreds of thousands of people and a huge coalition of charities are doing to help ensure Lords do decide to overturn MPs and fix the gagging law again, check back on this blog on Monday 27th Jan.