The watering down of the snooping proposals came as a result of Tory and Liberal
Democrat backbench pressures, but many Lib Dem MPs were keen to get stuck into a public argument over civil liberties.
Not exact matches
Liberal
Democrat home affairs
backbench spokesperson Tom Brake also stated that high ranking officers he had spoken to expressed «no desire» to use such extreme methods of crowd control.
Holding his backbenchers in check on Europe has been ever more difficult to achieve, however, given the disproportionate number of hard - line Eurosceptics among the 2010 intake of Conservative MPs and the increasing discontent on the Conservative
backbenches with the constraints of being in a coalition with the Liberal
Democrats.
By avoiding confrontation and by making concessionary gestures to their Coalition partner, their strategy would appear to be to «hang the Liberal
Democrats out to dry»; as realistically, the Conservative Party
backbench would never pass a bill mandating a grand convention to write a brand new constitution from scratch.
Nick Clegg and David Cameron had been wrestling each other for months over House of Lords reform, with the Liberal
Democrat leader very publicly pulling the plug on his pet project in August 2012 after the prime minister admitted he would not be able to guarantee the support of his
backbenches for the far - reaching reform.
Over on the NottsPolitics blog Professor Philip Cowley underlines the rebelliousness of
backbench Liberal
Democrat and Conservative MPs since the formation of the Coalition.
Conservative
backbench opinion is hardening against Mr Lansley making dramatic retreats in the face of staunch Liberal
Democrat opposition.
Last night,
backbench Tory MP Phillip Davies said: «This is the kind of garbage we have to put up with when in coalition with the Liberal
Democrats.»
«My colleague Sir Nick Harvey has talked and written extensively on Liberal
Democrat Ministers in Government — he has looked at the situation as an insider while I have watched on from the
backbenches.
However it isn't difficult to imagine a situation in which both Labour and the Conservatives could gain a majority in coalition with the Liberal
Democrats help, but the Conservatives — under pressure from the
backbenches — have erected a greater number of «red lines» while Labour are more open minded.
The rebellious
backbench Tory MP stepped up his calls for the immediate breakup of the coalition after Liberal
Democrat ministers voted with Labour against boundary changes earlier this week.
Backbench opposition As the new Conservative and Liberal
Democrat cabinet met for the first time yesterday, some senior Tory and Labour MPs voiced concern over the proposal.
Liberal
Democrat Leader in the Lords, Dick Newby said of the appointments: «This is a desperate grab for power by a regime losing its grip on Parliament, public opinion and even its own
backbenches.
The
backbench measure still faces further parliamentary hurdles, and there is no guarantee it will become law with most Labour and Liberal
Democrat MPs abstaining.
Nor was the
Democrat on trial some meaningless
backbench fall guy, but an elder «statesman» of the party.
Earlier a
backbench Democrat called on Silver to step down.