Commons: MPs return today

As MPs return from their Easter break, the government is preparing for the loss of key planks of its legislative programme.

The speculation comes as parliament prepares to be dissolved for a likely May 5 general election.

While the death of the Pope has forced the government to rethink its campaign launch, ministers appear to have accepted that some flagship bills will be lost.

The biggest casualty will be home secretary Charles Clarke who looks set to lose two major pieces of legislation.

Horse-trading over a wide range of legislation will continue next week, with parliament likely to be dissolved on April 11.

Clarke

Bills which could be lost include the Identity Cards Bill, the Gambling Bill, the Consumer Credit Bill.

Clarke could also lose legislation intended to outlaw incitement on grounds of religious hatred.

He dismissed opposition to the ID cards legislation as "crazy" and went on to signal that the religious hatred law, contained in Serious Organised Crime and Policing Bill, is vulnerable.

"We think (the bill) should include the incitement of racial hatred - we can't understand the Tories and Lib Dems blocking it, but if they continue to block it they can obviously prevent it going in," he told the Observer newspaper.

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill and the Charities Bill could also fail to make it onto the statute book.

As a bargaining tool, Commons leader Peter Hain recently refused to say whether the legislation would be reintroduced by a Labour government in a Queen's Speech likely to be held on May 17.