Private Business – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 28 July 1959.
Sir John Langford-Holt
, Shrewsbury
12:00,
28 July 1959
I beg to present a Petition on behalf of G. B. W. Walsh for leave to be given to certain Officers of the House to attend a trial and give evidence concerning certain proceedings and debates of the House. As I propose to move a Motion in respect of this Petition, I ask that the Petition be read.
The Clerk of the House:
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.
The Humble Petition of Geoffrey Brian Whittington Walsh, a partner in the firm of Swepstone, Walsh & Son, Solicitors for the Defendants in an action entered for trial in the Queen's Bench Division and entitled Philip Burrington Dingle and Associated Newspapers Limited, Arthur George Wareham and Michael Kelly
SHEWETH
That reference is to be made in the said action to the report placed before your
Honourable House on the fifteenth day of May, 1958, by the Committee to whom the Manchester Corporation Bill was referred. And that excerpts from speeches and remarks made by the Honourable Members of your Honourable House in debate in connection with the Manchester Corporation Bill and all matters connected therewith, having been quoted in the newspaper published by the first named Defendants and all such speeches and remarks being set down in the volumes of the OFFICIAL REPORT of your Honourable House for Parliamentary Debates, namely HANSARD, reference to such OFFICIAL REPORT is desired to be made in the said action.
Wherefore your Petitioner prays that your Honourable House will be graciously pleased to give leave to the proper officers of your Honourable House to attend the trial of the said action and to produce the report of the said Committee, the Journal of the House, so far as it is relevant, and all numbers in the volumes of the said OFFICIAL REPORT appertaining to speeches and remarks concerning the Manchester Corporation Bill and formally to prove all the same before the Court according to their competence. And your Petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.
Sir John Langford-Holt
, Shrewsbury
I beg to move,
That leave be given to the proper Officers to attend and to produce and prove the Journal and the said documents accordingly and to give evidence verifying the same.
Mr Geoffrey Hirst
, Shipley
I beg to second the Motion.
Mr Desmond Donnelly
, Pembrokeshire
Is it in order for me to object, Mr. Speaker?
Mr William Morrison
, Cirencester and Tewkesbury
I should remark that this is the time for unopposed business. If the business is opposed it cannot be taken today. I think that the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Donnelly) himself has some experience of a similar situation.
Mr Desmond Donnelly
, Pembrokeshire
I only seek to elucidate the procedure because I am still very new to this jungle of objections. I merely wish to inquire whether it is in order for me to object to the Motion.
Mr Emrys Hughes
, South Ayrshire
I object on the ground that this takes up the time allotted to Scottish Questions.
Mr William Morrison
, Cirencester and Tewkesbury
The hon. Member for Shrewsbury (Mr. Langford-Holt) must put the Motion down for tomorrow.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
