Tory Backbenchers Fighting Off the Vulture Fund Bill

There appears to be a last minute amendment proposed to the vulture fund bill that could put the end to the entire idea. The vulture fund bill was put into place in hopes that it would protect countries that are indebted to the UK, but it could be scuppered as early as this weekend.

The legislation was proposed in order to protect some of the world’s poorest countries after threats that they could be sued by vulture funds. However, a backbencher for the conservative party has thrown together an amendment even though the original bill has won the support of the government and the front bench of the party.

The private members bill is sponsored by MP Andrew Gwynne of the labour party but there is fear that the recent amendment could prevent the bill from getting another reading before the upcoming general election. The amendment was tabled by MP Philip Davies and seems to have been issued at the perfect time to put a halt to the entire process.

For more background, vulture funds are used to purchase the debt of countries that are poor for just a small part of their face value. They then pursue the debt through international courts and can often counteract agreements by creditors that have given the country in question some form of debt relief.

Campaigners for the bill are very excited to see it take place as it would help poor countries such as Liberia to avoid total bankruptcy due to any legal action that could be taken against them.
Many are very disappointed with the last minute amendment as it seems its sole purpose is to simply delay matters, and prevent the bill from going through on time. It remains to be seen what the final outcome will be, but the questions and concerns are still surfacing at all times.