Evidence from Parliamentary monitors is that Labour MPs are getting a bit more bolshy and may actually be voting with their consciences.

"Most milestones are reached, not with a great fanfare, but with a whimper, and so it was on Tuesday, 7 December 2004, when the Blair Government suffered its 200th backbench rebellion since its re-election in 2001." [Revolts]

"But the biggest reason, and the best, is actually that MPs are becoming increasingly independent, in much the way that parliament's critics often want to see, and in a manner which may even be said to reflect the pluralism of the society which they represent." [The Guardian]

It's a shame that it is news when MPs vote for what they believe in rather than what their party whips (the party enforcers) tell them to vote for. More astonishing is that, coincidentally, they may actually be representing the views of their constituents.

11:46:17 PM