‘OPPOSITION Day’ when the main opposition party chooses the subject for debate is a parliamentary institution.

Usually, these motions are defeated for the obvious reasons that they are opposition motions.

Recently the Government has adopted a curious tactic – not voting on opposition days.

So when the Speaker calls on MPs to shout ‘aye’ or ‘no’, they keep quiet and the opposition motions are passed without a vote.

The problem is that the Government then ignores the vote.

I recall that when the Labour government lost a vote on an opposition day a minister had to come to the House immediately to make a statement.

Now that doesn’t happen.

The Tories seem to be using this tactic because they cannot rely on all their own MPs, let alone the DUP, voting with them.

Last week Labour tried a new tactic by putting down a motion in the form of ‘An Humble Address,’ to the Queen.

The assumption was that a vote taken in such a form would be binding on the Government.

We wanted the Government to release studies into the likely economic impact of Brexit so MPs would be properly informed about what the consequences of Brexit are likely to be.

Whether you are a leaver or remainer we all have an interest in making sure that Parliament has a proper, informed debate on the issues.

What happened?

The Tories didn’t vote yet again.

It is extremely odd to find a government which isn’t prepared to ask its own MPs to support it in the lobbies.

This tactic of doing nothing seems to be spreading everywhere.

Take parliamentary questions.

I recently asked about the composition of Warrington’s magistrates’ bench.

I wanted to know which wards magistrates come from, having long been concerned that the areas with most crime are under-represented on the bench.

I was told that the information could only be obtained at ‘disproportionate cost’.

It was easily available under the Labour government so I asked when they had stopped collecting it and discovered that the information existed but it was too much trouble to collate it!

This ‘we know but we’re not going to tell you’ attitude is spreading.

It is the sign of a frightened government, one not confident about its own policies.

It is not good for parliament or for the country.