Dissolution of Parliament. – in the House of Commons at on 9 October 1924.
Mr Stanley Baldwin
, Bewdley
May I ask the Prime Minister if he has any statement to make to. the House?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
I regret that the action taken by the two Opposition parties yesterday rendered an Election inevitable. I, therefore, have had an audience with His Majesty this morning, and asked for a dissolution. His Majesty empowers me to announce that he has consented.
In considering further arrangements, I felt that I should be meeting the wishes of all parties in the House if I did my best to avoid clashing with the municipal elections. The difficulty was whether it would be better to hang the Election over until the municipal elections had been cleared out of the way, or whether it would not be better, and far more convenient, to try to get the General Election over before the municipal elections.
The Government were very anxious to reduce the inconvenience of the Election to a minimum. By a careful study of the position, we have found that it will be possible to have the Election over before the municipal elections take place. The proposal, therefore, is that this afternoon this House will be prorogued, and the Election will take place forthwith. [HON. MEMBERS: "When?"] The Dissolution to-night will mean that nominations can he made on Saturday, the 18th October. and we can take the Election on Wednesday, the 29th October.
Mr T.P. O'Connor
, Liverpool Scotland
May T. ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, in connection with the dates he has just announced, the position has been made clear that this House will not dissolve until the Irish Free State Bill has been passed?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
Yes. In accordance with the pledge I gave the other day, we have seen that the Irish Free State (Confirmation of Agreement) Bill is safe. I understand that Another place has made no alteration, and that there is no difficulty. Had it not been for that, the dates that I have just announced could not have been arranged. It is on the supposition that the Irish Bill will receive the Royal Assent this afternoon, and that other formal business will be transacted immediately afterwards.
Lieut-Colonel Sir Edward Grigg
, Oldham
May I ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies what date was contemplated for the Imperial Conference, to which, I understand, he has invited representatives of the Dominions, and what arrangements be is making about it in view of the Prime Minister's announcement?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
That is a Foreign Office affair, and it must be the subject of representations to the Dominion Government.
Mr Carlyon Bellairs
, Maidstone
Can the Prime Minister say whether it will be necessary for the new House of Commons to meet this year, in order to pass the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
Yes. We have also taken that into account. There are two small Bills, which are very important, that must be passed this year, unless very great public inconvenience is to be caused. One is the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill, and the other the Property Bill—a Bill dealing with the law relating to property.
Mr Dennis Herbert
, Watford
A. Bill to postpone the Law of Property Act.
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
It is a Bill to postpone something or other. I am informed that that Bill must be passed, Unless a great deal of public inconvenience is to be caused. I understand that any time up to the 31st December will do for that Bill. The intention is that the House of Commons shall meet reasonably soon after the Election.
Lieut-Colonel James Hodge
, Preston
May I ask the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that the Election will take place on the 29th October, Parliamentary sanction is required, or, if not, have the Cabinet made any arrangement, in regard to the continuance of the British Empire Exhibition and any Government guarantee?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
That is at present in negotiation with the Dominions. I believe it can be settled without Parliamentary sanction. I had it in my mind when I said that we would meet conveniently after the Election, say, just a week or two later, in order to give Members an opportunity of having a little rest before they resume their duties.
Mr Campbell Stephen
, Glasgow Camlachie
May I ask the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that the Tory Magistrates' Committee in Glasgow have shut the halls in Glasgow against Labour Members, as the first part of their campaign? [HON. MEMBERS: "Sundays!"]
Mr Arthur Comyns Carr
, Islington East
May I ask the Prime Minister whether, in regard to the dates which have been taken carefully into consideration, he is aware that the Autumn Register does not come into force, and is not ordinarily printed and available for use until the 15th October; and, having regard to that fact, can any steps be taken by the Government to expedite the publication of the Registers, so that they may be available for the use of candidates in reasonable time for the Election?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
My information is not quite in accordance with what has just been stated by my hon. Friend. My information is that, while the Register comes into operation on the 15th October, it is circulated on the.8th October. As a matter of fact, the Registers ought to have been delivered yesterday. That was one of the things which we took into account, to see whether the dates would be convenient.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in all up-to-date constituencies the Registers are ready now?
Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy
, Kingston upon Hull Central
Is it possible to give an approximate date when Parliament will re-assemble after the Election?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
I think that will be stated in the Proclamation—somewhere about the 18th or 20th November.
In a general election, each constituency chooses an MP to represent it by process of election. The party who wins the most seats in parliament is in power, with its leader becoming Prime Minister and its Ministers/Shadow Ministers making up the new Cabinet. If no party has a majority, this is known as a hung Parliament. The next general election will take place on or before 3rd June 2010.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
During a debate members of the House of Commons traditionally refer to the House of Lords as 'another place' or 'the other place'.
Peers return the gesture when they speak of the Commons in the same way.
This arcane form of address is something the Labour Government has been reviewing as part of its programme to modernise the Houses of Parliament.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
