 The rules on Gurkhas entering the UK were voted on in Parliament |
Political bloggers and newspaper pundits reflect on the implications of the government's Commons defeat on the issue of the right of Gurkhas to stay in the UK.
Conservative political blogger Iain Dale is jubilant about the government's defeat in the vote:  The defeat is a devastating one for a government with a majority of more than 60. It demonstrates the will of the House of Commons, that the Gurkhas deserve to be treated more equitably. I don't know how many Labour MPs rebelled, but well done to each and every one of them. And well done to the Lib Dems for tabling the motion.
The Guardian's editorial sees the Gurkhas' win in Parliament as having huge political significance: No government has ever lost on an opposition day motion; parliamentary experts were last night combing through the books to find previous defeats on supply days, their earlier variety. They are very rare, and all but unheard of for a government (such as this one) which has a sizable majority.
Liberal Democrat blogger Alex Foster links to congratulations for the leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg from across the blogosphere: He's been rewarded for his efforts with a round of ace reviews from bloggers across the spectrum.
Political Editor for the Independent, Jane Merrick thinks that the Gurkha issue was the first time that Nick Clegg has really shone: But it was Clegg who played the real blinder. This was the Lib Dem leader's best performance at PMQs. Clegg has struggled to find the right issue to get the PM on, but this, on the Gurkhas, is the right one.
However, Labour MP Tom Harris said on his blog that he thought Clegg was foolish to pass the limelight to David Cameron: The government was defeated — for the first time since it came to power in 1997 — on an opposition motion. A Lib Dem motion, to be precise, and on the back of a Lib Dem-led campaign. The Tories were nowhere in this debate. They jumped on the bandwagon when they saw the electoral potential, but it's not something Cameron was particularly exercised about until today.
Sir Menzies Campbell writes in the Guardian 's Comment is Free that Brown failed to sense the public sentiment: Gurkhas hold a special place in British hearts and, for once, public opinion was in favour of immigration rather than against it.
Overwhelmed by the majority of support for Gurkhas from the blogosphere and the columnists, the Telegraph's Iain Martin tentatively argues against Gurkhas' right to stay in the UK: But can I say, calmly, with admiration for the Gurkhas undimmed, that there might, just might, be an alternative view. And that actually the arrangements voted down were not ungenerous or unfair?
He highlights Lord Bramall's views in the Independent . He was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1982-85: It is only recently, when some have seen how comfortably off some retired Gurkhas can be living in the UK, that others have asked to come. Yet this was never the deal at all.
Iain Martin also ponders the prospect of a political career for Joanna Lumley after her success: Surely she is headed for a seat in the Lords? David Cameron and Nick Clegg will probably both want her elevated.
On Joanna Lumley, Max Atkinson agrees that she shone in his blog about speaking and presentation: …yesterday, we saw actress and Gurkha justice campaigner Joanna Lumley showing two party leaders the virtues of brevity and enthusiasm.
Only one question left to answer; who are the Gurkhas, and what part do they play in our military which the Independent blog endeavours to answer : Around 28,000 Gurkha youths compete for just 200 places in the British Army each year. To qualify they must be able to do 75 bench jumps in one minute and 70 sit-ups in two minutes. Then they participate in the world's most arduous military selection test, the doko - running 5km up a steep track in the foothills of the Himalayas, carrying 25kg of rocks on their back, in less than 55 minutes. No wonder the Gurkhas are famed for their resilience, self-restraint and courage.
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