They won by nine votes

Bugger. The government won it's deplorable 42 days vote.

315 MPs voted for.
306 MPs voted against.

Among those voting for include the nine DUP MPs who deny they were bought off.
Among those voting against were 36 Labour MPs (listed here).


Let's be clear this humiliation was something Brown could easily have avoided. He didn't have to strain relations with the entire House of Commons, he doesn't need this legislation and he hasn't changed the direction of New Labour, only poisoned the waters.

Some reactions to tonight's vote... one thing that John McDonnell says"This means that where a person has died when in the hands of the state or is killed by the state the Government now has the power to have the inquest held in secret and the verdict decided not by a jury but by a special coroner appointed by the Government."

Over at practically insurgent Jack's unimpressed by those who get too worried about this legislation.

Marsha Jane makes a very valid point. "So it would have taken 4-5 MPs to change the outcome of this vote - oh hold on isn't that about the number of Compass MPs?? Oh yes but yet again and as I blogged earlier they sold out on yet another issue."

Tory blogger supremo Iain Dale says "Gordon Brown may be pleased to have won the vote on 42 days, but he couldn't have done it without the DUP. The duplicitous bastards kept reassuring the Conservatives they wouldn't cave in, but they were not to be trusted in the end."

Rumours are that Jon Cruddas supported the legislation. Very disappointing. These rumours are confirmed and possibly hint at a long term strategy to advance his position in the party, something I'd find more difficult to support now to say the least.

Updates...

Sunny thinks it's a farce. He links to Jim Denham, Justine, Matt Wardman, Amused Cynicism, Diane Abbott, and FreethinkerUK. Greenman also has some interesting links.

Timothy Garton Ash says "The narrow majority on 42 days makes it a bad day for British democracy, even if the bill has been amended into futility"

The Telegraph says it was a case of the Ulster tail wagging the Prime Ministerial dog.

Obsolete reminds me of the quote I caught on the news. It went something like "Brown has avoided a humiliating defeat and gained a humiliating victory." Don't know who said it though.

At HarpyMarx we hear that "Brown scraped his votes with an alliance from the DUP, Ann Widdecombe and a UKIP MP." But it wasn't just the reactionaries, two Compass supporting MPs Jon Trickett and Jon Cruddas also backed the government. She asks "Why did they feel the need to back a draconian measure that is a slap in the face for civil liberties and human rights. They weren’t isolated there were other Labour MPs who had the guts to vote against. What is their excuse other than opportunism and political expediency? It is also a slap in the face for the left."

Liam has harsh words for the DUP. More than fair I'd say, more than fair.

Norfolk Blogger sees this as the end of Labour.

More to come...