UK Climate Secretary Chris Huhne is set to fly back to London from the UN climate summit for the Thursday’s Commons vote on student tuition fees. Campaigners say the move could damage prospects of a deal, as Mr Huhne has been tasked with brokering a compromise on the troubled Kyoto Protocol.
The coalition asked Labour to withdraw an MP from the ballot so Mr Huhne could stay, but the opposition declined … it is understood that Mr Huhne and his team are still attempting to secure a “pairing” with either a Labour MP or someone from a smaller opposition party, which would allow him to remain in Cancun.
Not disputing that the tuition fees issue is a massive deal. But the Parliamentary arithmetic on this one isn’t seriously in doubt. Ed Miliband has an enviable reputation on climate – and he of all people should know better than to drag the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change back from a UNFCCC summit for the sake of political point scoring (especially when he’s playing a key brokering role, as Huhne currently is).
Shame on Labour if it can’t find this modicum of bipartisanship on the biggest global issue.
Update: over on Twitter, various Labour folk are saying that this is an internal Lib Dem matter – i.e. that Chris Huhne should pair with one of the Lib Dem rebels, not with a Labour MP.
I find this utterly unconvincing. It’s perfectly clearly established that when an MP is paired in a Commons vote, it’s with someone on the other side of the House. Labour’s opportunity here is to rise above party politics, provide Chris Huhne with a face-saving compromise and enable the sensible outcome. If we won’t take it, then we’re as bad as the rest.
Update 2: Greenpeace Director Jon Sauven in the Guardian:
“With the coalition struggling to keep the show on the road in London over tuition fees, Ed Miliband should step up to the plate and act in a statesmanlike manner by pairing up a Labour MP with Chris Huhne, the climate change secretary, who is key to the negotiations in Cancún.
“The current political gaming in Westminster could end up having detrimental consequences for the progress of the climate talks in Mexico if Huhne is forced to fly home. We need Miliband to build on his personal legacy from Copenhagen to ensure Britain’s key role in the Mexico climate negotiations is not undermined.”
Exactly.
