Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which is designed to enable a referendum on Alternative Voting to be held in May 2011 – and to reduce the number of seats in the House of Commons from 650 to 600 – has been held up in the House of Lords for the last few weeks. It looks as though a deal has been done to enable the Committee Stage of the Bill to be completed by 2 February, which it turn opens the way for the Bill to be passed by the middle of February – essential if the referendum is to be held in May.
However, Labour peers continue to hint that there may still be further delays. My own guess is that it will get through – but watch this space!