Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Hunting and EU Constitution.
Hunting
Asked if the Hunting Bill had not been included in the Queen’s Speech today because the Government had not yet reached agreement on it, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said no. It had not been included because discussions were still ongoing. As journalists themselves had acknowledged, this was a very ‘crammed’ Queen’s Speech which contained many Bills and draft Bills. That was what we were focussing on today. Questioned as to whether the discussions were continuing within Government, the PMOS repeated that discussions were continuing in the normal way and through the normal channels. Asked if he was implying that the Opposition was being consulted, the PMOS said that discussions were continuing and we would communicate the conclusions in the usual way.
Questioned as to when the Bill abolishing upfront tuition fees would be brought forward in the Commons, the PMOS said that we would announce when Bills would be introduced in Parliament at the appropriate time. Pressed further, the PMOS said that it was clearly a crowded field and it was therefore only right to take a little time to sort out the timetabling arrangements. Put to him that the DfES had indicated that they were expecting a vote on the Second Reading before Christmas, the PMOS suggested that journalists should avoid speculation, be a little patient and wait and see how the timetable panned out. Put to him that the Government had planned for the pre-Christmas date initially, but his refusal to be drawn on the timetabling arrangements would lead many to conclude that some ’slippage’ was going to occur, the PMOS repeated that it was better to wait for the announcement on the timetable, rather than engage in pointless speculation.
EU Constitution
Asked if the Prime Minister had seen the Italian Presidency’s full draft of the EU Constitution and what his views were on it, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had not read it as far as he was aware. Rather than respond to reports, it would be more helpful if we were given time to study the document in depth and then comment on it directly. That said, our overall sense was that the draft was moving in our direction, although there were some areas where we would have to continue to argue our case. Asked to explain why the Foreign Secretary had felt the need to ’sound gloomy’ about it if the draft was indeed moving in our direction, the PMOS said that we still believed the December Summit was the place to discuss this issue and to try to reach a deal, which we continued to believe was possible. Asked if the draft included QMV on foreign affairs, the PMOS repeated that there were some areas where we had to continue to argue our case. In the meantime, it was important for people to recognise that this was a draft, not the final product.
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