– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 29 January 1962.
Sir Harry Hylton-Foster
, Cities of London and Westminster
12:00,
29 January 1962
I have received a letter from the Chairman of Ways and Means, the terms of which I wish to communicate to the House. It reads as follows:
Mr Iain Macleod
, Enfield West
The House will have heard with regret of the decision of my right hon. Friend the Member for Dorking (Sir G. Touche) which you, Mr. Speaker, have communicated to the House. My right hon. Friend joined the Chairman's Panel in 1945. He became Deputy-Chairman of Ways and Means in 1956 and Chairman in 1959. That means that ever since the war he has taken part in the work of the Chair, either in Committee or in the House.
I think that hon. Members on both sides of the House would wish to express gratitude for the work he has done over the years in these responsible and demanding positions, which are of key importance to the House of Commons. I am sure that we all wish that with the lightening of his duties improved health will quickly follow.
The letter which you, Mr. Speaker, have just read will involve a Motion being put before the House. On precedents which I understand go back for a century or more this is done at once without advance notice. Accordingly, I wish later to move that the hon. Member for Berwick and East Lothian (Sir W. Anstruther-Gray) be Chairman of Ways and Means and the hon. Member for Westbury (Sir R. Grimston) be Deputy-Chairman.
These two hon. Members have between them nearly sixty years' service in the House and I am certain that every hon. Member knows that they will fulfil their duties in an admirable way.
Mr Hugh Gaitskell
, Leeds South
I associate my right hon. and hon. Friends with the words of appreciation of the former Chairman of Ways and Means Which have been uttered by the Leader of the House and express our regret that illness has obliged him to give up his position.
Mr Clement Davies
, Montgomeryshire
On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond), may I associate my colleagues and myself with what has been said by the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition. We all deeply regret the going of the Chairman of Ways and Means. We all equally regret the cause of it and we sincerely hope that his health will now benefit. We are all deeply grateful to him for the way in which he exercised his heavy responsibilities.
The responsibilities of Chairman of Ways and Means are very difficult to carry out, because he has not that cloak of authority which surrounds you, Mr. Speaker, in the Chair. We are very sorry that ill-health compels the right hon. Member to relinquish this office.
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.
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.
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.
