LABOUR MPs were celebrating a 'stunning' victory today after Tory MPs accidentally voted for an amendment to a flagship government bill.
Conservative MPs were left red-faced after voting in support of the amendment to the Fisheries bill, tabled by Labour.
The amendment would have added a new clause to bill, requiring the government to consult on giving financial help for the promotion of recreational fishing, and to include representatives of recreational fishing when conducting a consultation under any other provisions of the bill. Recreational fishing represents the majority of fishing that takes place in the UK.
The new Clause 2 (NC2) was voted for by fisheries inister Victoria Prentis and the TORY whips who mistakenly thought it was a government amendment.
Labour MPs kept quiet about the mistake before the committee clerk alerted conservative chairman Charles Walker MP to the blunder.
Ms Prentis said: "Right, we don’t want [the Clause]” and the meeting was adjourned.
Labour MP Luke Pollard tweeted afterwards: "Lots of embarrassed Tories in the #FisheriesBill committee today as every Tory MP accidentally votes for a Labour amendment they technically oppose. NC2 on recreational fishing is great but now witnessing their desperate attempts to reverse this stunning Labour victory! :-)
"Embarrassed Tories have found a way of explaining why a Tory Minister and Tory MPs moved and voted for a Labour amendment they oppose. The very kind Tory chair of the Committee has spared Tory blushes by claiming it was his fault. Tory MPs escape questions why they voted for it."
Lots of embarrassed Tories in the #FisheriesBill committee today as every Tory MP accidentally votes for a Labour amendment they technically oppose. NC2 on recreational fishing is great but now witnessing their desperate attempts to reverse this stunning Labour victory! :-) pic.twitter.com/pEr9L1FxUT
— Luke Pollard MP (@LukePollard) September 15, 2020
After the adjournment, Labour and the Conservatives Whips negotiated and the proceeding was re-done, removing the NC2 clause.
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