Vulture Funds

An article in The Independent today reports that David Cameron has hit a "glass ceiling" in support and needs to do more to convince liberal voters to back his rebranded Tory party. Ken Clarke, the shadow Business Secretary, reportedly told Andrew Marr: "So many seats have to change hands. We have got to get through the glass ceiling by winning over more liberals."

Well, they aren’t going to do it by blocking the Debt Relief Bill.

The Independent explains: "A landmark move to protect the world's poorest countries from debt sharks was blocked yesterday by a single Conservative MP during extraordinary scenes in the House of Commons. Vulture fund investment companies buy up defaulted third world debt and sue for immediate repayment. The Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill was designed to curb their activities, ensuring that creditors cannot pursue debt repayment beyond the level assessed as fair and sustainable by the World Bank.”

Who would want to block this legislation?

The Tories don’t want to tell us: “One lone voice piped up: "Object!" Three Conservatives were in the chamber – Christopher Chope, Andrew Robathan and Simon Burns – but it was not clear at the time who had intervened.”

Mr Chope?

Mr Chope told The Independent: "If you are concerned about this Bill making progress, you should be asking why the Government hasn't given it extra time. As far as today's proceedings are concerned, there's a big Government spin operation to shift the blame to other people."

If Hansard doesn’t keep a log of objectors, then it should.

But the bottom line is that if this Bill is not given the Royal Assent before the General Election, it won’t get through.