MPs bow to e-petition pressure

The issue of whether the August rioters should be stripped of benefits will be debated in the Commons

MPs have given in to pressure for a Commons debate on the e-petition
demanding benefit cuts for the August rioters.

The Backbench Business Committee – which earlier claimed it had no
time to spare for an early debate – has issued a statement in which
it accepted a compromise under which there will be a debate next month on the response to the riots "including the issue of sanctions for those involved".

But the debate will be sidelined to take place in the secondary Westminster
Hall chamber on 13 October.

The petition demanding rioters be stripped of benefits crashed under the weight of support, achieving over 220,000 signatures, well in excess of the 100,000 threshold past which Prime Minister David Cameron said it would need to be debated.

Earlier the committee refused, angry it had not been consulted over how to stage the debates, complaining no process had been agreed to handle successful e-petitions and that it had no space on its agenda for such debates.

There is also a problem that motions in the Commons have to be "moved"
by an MP, which would be difficult, as in this case, where the Commons has no retrospective power to increase criminal punishments available to the courts.

The compromise involves debating the general issue rather than the specific words in the motion.

A similar debate on releasing secret papers on the Hillsborough football stadium disaster also demanded in a successful e-petition will be held on 17 October in the Commons itself.

The committee has launched a consultation on how future successful e-petitions should be dealt with.