After writing yesterday about my surprise at finding a Statutory Instrument which seemed to predict the future, I have had a look at the timing and it seems I wasn’t going mad after all.

This example of our Parliament reduced to a rubber stamping factory for “politburo” style executive legislation may be a minor one, but surely they could have had the decency to let MPs actually read the published report and digest the contents rather than putting out the legislative changes by slapping in the Statutory Instrument on the very same day the report comes out (and that, after writing it two weeks before the report is even published no less)?

Exhibit 1, Michael Gove’s letter (links to pdf) to “behaviour czar” Charlie Taylor – note the date being yesterday (16th April) and the highlighted section on the second page :

As you can see from the screengrab below, the report calling for an increase in fines and the letter of response both appeared on Monday 16th :

And the offending SI which was drawn up a full two weeks before the report was even published with the weasel defence that it wasn’t laid before Parliament until Monday to coincide with the publication of the report itself :

I wonder what an MP actually does for the money these days?