New Clause 8
Welfare Reform Bill
10:45 am
David Ruffley (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Bury St Edmunds, Conservative)
Good morning, Mr. Hood. It is a great joy to see you again after such a long break.
I hope, Mr. Hood, that you will not have to witness the scenes that some of us had to witness in the Chamber, not once but twice. At oral questions to the Department for Work and Pensions, there were dangerous signs of a breakdown in the valuable consensus that has been displayed in Committee. Ministers were actually criticising Opposition Members, quite openly and on the record. [Laughter.]
The debate yesterday afternoon started badly and then got worse. I am glad those scenes, which took place during the winding-up speeches, were after the9 pm watershed because children should not have been watching. There were sneering and barracking noises from Government Members in a pathetic attempt to put off my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond). I really hope that we do not see scenes like that in Committee today.