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  Not just the Tories in turmoil......
  
  'Constitutional crisis looms' if Lords reject gay marriage plan, senior peer warned
  
  The Government could be plunged into a "constitutional crisis" if members of the House of Lords reject
  
  plans for gay marriage this week, a senior peer has warned.
  
  Opponents of the Same Sex Couples Bill will force peers to vote on Tuesday on a "fatal motion" to kill
  
  off the Bill before it is even considered in detail by the Lords. Should the attempt succeed, David Cameron
  
  will be placed in the contentious position of forcing through the Bill with a rare use of the Parliament Act
  
  or abandoning the current legislation altogether.
  
  In an interview with The Independent, the Labour peer Lord Alli, a staunch supporter of the Bill, warned
  
  that tomorrow's vote was "too close to call" and that it could trigger a crisis for the Government should
  
  the Bill fail.
  
  "If they win the vote then the Bill doesn't come to us and the Commons can't do anything about it," he said.
  
  "The Government could use the Parliament Act but the argument against it is that the issue was not a
  
  manifesto commitment. In my view they could legitimately do it because it was a free vote - but it's a
  
  constitutional crisis," he added.

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