– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 November 1947.
Mr Anthony Eden
, Warwick and Leamington
12:00,
27 November 1947
May I ask the Leader of the House to state the Business for next week?
Mr Herbert Morrison
, Lewisham East
Yes, Sir. The Business for next week will be as follows:
Monday, 1st December—Second Reading of the Agriculture (Scotland) Bill and Committee stage of the necessary Money Resolutions.
Tuesday, 2nd December, and Wednesday, 3rd December—Committee stage of the Finance Bill.
Thursday, 4th December—Committee stage of the Parliament Bill, and further progress will be made with the Pensions (Governors of Dominions, etc.) Bill.
Friday, 5th December—Second Reading of the Medical Practitioners and Pharmacists Bill (Lords); Second Reading of the Public Works Loans Bill and Committee stage of the necessary Money Resolution, and Second Reading of the Mandated and Trust Territories Bill (Lords).
Mr Samuel Silverman
, Nelson and Colne
Will my right hon. Friend say whether, having regard to the result of the Gravesend By-election, he can find time next week for the Vote of confidence which the Leader of the Opposition will no doubt wish to move?
Mr Herbert Morrison
, Lewisham East
I have not yet received such a request, but it would be very nice. If it were received, we would give the necessary facilities.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.
The "Leader of the Opposition" is head of "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". This position is taken by the Leader of the party with the 2nd largest number of MPs in the Commons.
A by-election occurs when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant during the lifetime of a Parliament (i.e. between general elections) because the sitting MP dies, resigns, is elevated to the peerage, or becomes ineligible to sit for some other reason. If a vacancy occurs when the House is in session, the Chief Whip of the Party that formerly held the seat moves a Motion for a new writ. This leads to the by-election taking place. Prior notice does not have to be given in the Order Paper of the House. There is no time limit in which a new writ has to be issued, although by convention it is usually done within three months of a seat becoming vacant. There have been times when seats have remained empty for more than six months before a by-election was called. The sitting party will obviously choose a time when they feel confident of success. Seats are often left vacant towards the end of a Parliament to be filled at the General Election though this is not always the case and by-elections have sometimes occurred just before the dissolution of Parliament. While a vacancy exists a member of the same party in a neighbouring constituency handles constituency matters. When the new Member is elected in the by-election, all outstanding matters are handed back. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M7 at the UK Parliament site.
