New Clause 8 - Judicial tenure
Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
3:00 pm
Jim Murphy (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Cabinet Office; East Renfrewshire, Labour)
It is noticeable that we have finished, perhaps a little unpredictably, almost an hour early, which is testimony to the usual channels and the fact that we have a had a good debate on the different clauses without any knives. You were in the Chair at our first Programming Sub-Committee meeting, Sir Nicholas, and you were keen to ensure that we had no knives. Your guidance has been helpful because we have had ample opportunity to debate matters and there has been some good humour on occasion.
As the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome said, the Government have agreed to reflect on a number of areas including the commitment to a veto and nine of the amendments about the procedures recommended by the Regulatory Reform Committee. We have given a commitment to come back on Report with specifics on that. We will consult the Opposition Front Benches and others about the nature of that veto. I thank you, Sir Nicholas. In addition to your duties here you had duties at “Question Time”. I know that it may have been difficult that morning to keep your mind on the discussions in Committee when you were preparing for that engagement.
I thank the Bill team, who have been of great assistance, the Clerks, and the Officers of the House. I thank the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome for announcing his deputy leadership bid during our proceedings. While the hon. Member for Cambridge deserves the compliment, he should be wary about why it is offered; he has a vote. He could have adopted the same approach as his hon. Friend and refused to commit to anyone.
I see from my notes that the hon. Member for Cambridge married a Murphy.