Daniel joins us for lunch at The New Inn after the girls earned some pocket money weeding and helping me repair the trailer.
This evening, Daniel went skating and I took Sam and the rest of the family for a walk around Horsey Mere.
Parliament uproar as the government lost the second and final vote on accepting their policy on the Social Chapter by a majority of 8 which meant that the Prime Minister could not ratify the treaty.
The weather forecast was poor for today but, in the event, it stayed fine and was even sunny for much of the time. I stayed in with the girls this morning as Diana went shopping but we were all back together in good time to welcome Daniel back. Both Debbie and Della had worked with me; first weeding the gravel and then helping to screw the final planks on to the trailer and in the process improved their characters and earned some pocket money.
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Daniel arrived around 1.00pm and we drove over to The New Inn for a nice lunch. Some of the afternoon finishing off the trailer and watching the dual spectacles of the English cricket team being outplayed once more by the Australians and then the opening of the Maastricht debate on the Social Chapter. This plot came to a head late in the evening as the vote was tied 317-317 on the Labour amendment calling for the Social Chapter to be adopted and the government only escaped with Speaker Betty Boothroyd's casting vote.
By precedent she had voted against a resolution for which no majority existed. Then the government lost the second and final vote on accepting their policy on the Social Chapter by a majority of 8 which meant that the Prime Minister could not ratify the treaty. He therefore came to the despatch box and announced that there would be a vote of confidence tabled tomorrow (on Friday, the day of M.P.'s constituency duties which is itself remarkable) and that the motion would call for the support of the government's handling of the matter.
We had tea at Harnser, after which Daniel went skating and I took Sam and the rest of the family for a long walk around Horsey Mere. Sam worked well on dummies and we enjoyed the exercise and experience. To bed late after watching the capers in the House of Commons and with Daniel occupying the sleeping bag on the floor to make it five in one room.