Re: Abstention DOESN'T work!
Not voting is NOT voting NO!
It isn't, no. But it is a way of dodging the issue.
As I said before, the heart of the matter is that Labour actually support the idea (consider that not all snooping law was Tory built) but aren't up to the task of taking the fallout from public criticism.
They are trying to have their cake and eat it too since they can count on the Tories, naturally, to vote for the bill without too much meaningful opposition but can later insist that they didn't support the bill should something go wrong.
In other words, they are not providing a meaningful opposition. MPs and other politicians get riled up when ordinary citizens withhold their votes because they can't trust any standing candidate yet wonder why the public then view actions like this one with disdain. Like I said; "do as I say, not as I do."