306 MPs voted for it, and 93 against. I don’t know who the MPs who voted against are at the moment, but there was an estimate of 18 Labour rebels. The suggestion is that those against the card were asked to make themselves scarce rather than voting against.
I watched a fair amount of the debate live on BBC Parliament, and it scares me that those few hours are seemingly the most detailed examination we’re getting of the government’s plans.
My earlier dissemination of Charles Clark’s piece in today’s Times is nothing compared to that to be found on Spy Blog.
Incidentally, in an enlightening Newsnight report (not yet online, but likely to be tomorrow), full of quotes, it was repeated that Clarke has changed his mind, with a fellow Norwich MP saying that this is the case.
It’s clear that the real reason for this is to reinforce the idea that the government is actually doing something about terrorism. This is an outrageously expensive way of doing so, at the same time fundamentally changing the state’s relationships with its citizens.
It’s just as well that my passport expires next year, as I’ll be getting a non-biometric one (they can’t do it yet).