Today the House of Lords Constitution Committee reports to the House on the Coronavirus Bill. This is an emergency measure introduced in the Commons last Thursday. It passed through its Commons stages on Monday and came to the Lords today with a view to its enactment tomorrow.
The context of a global pandemic, now being felt in every household in the United Kingdom, creates a paradox for constitutionalists. On the one hand, the UK and devolved governments must be empowered quickly with the tools they need to protect public safety; on the other, hasty law-making can lead to confusing or ineffective law, and, more consequentially, the undermining of individual liberties. It is with this balance in mind that the Committee addresses the Bill.
The Bill is complex and lengthy, containing 87 clauses and 27 schedules. It has significant potential constitutional and civil liberties implications in relation to powers of…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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