Commons defeat for government

Excellent news - this was an ill-conceived bill that sought to regulate what shouldn't be regulated, and what cannot be regulated. As Polly Toynbee put it yesterday,

"Much argument has been made for this bad bill. It belongs in the same nonsense league as banning "glorification of terrorism". Ideas cannot be policed, though blatant threats always have been."

Not much one can add - except to say this bill also sought to regulate emotions as well; very silly indeed. I liked Jamie K's description of the government's behaviour:

"(The bill has been) mauled by the Lords…but no, they just keep on coming, like a deranged child trying to hammer a sausage into a concrete floor with its forehead while humming at the top of its voice."

One of those one's that shouldn't make any sense - yet it still does, somehow.