Part of Orders of the Day — Finance Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 June 1964.
Mr James Callaghan
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
12:00,
10 June 1964
I put it in a suitably neutral form. Nevertheless, I feel that such arguments as the Government can advance are best advanced during the early hours of our sittings and not during late ones. The way in which we have conducted the Bill in the sense of trying to finish at about this time of day is best conducive to the disposal of the business. As far as we are concerned, we shall endeavour to pursue that course in order to try to get the day's business through at a reasonable time.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
