Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 23 June 1964.
duced into the House after 1959 was the Highlands and Islands Shipping Services Act, 1960, the purpose of which was to provide Government money for building ships to maintain shipping services to the Highlands. That is another matter in which the hon. Member for Inverness has a vital constituency interest, but on that one, also, he did not speak on Second Reading, he was not on the Committee which dealt with the Bill and he did not speak on Report.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
