Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 11 December 1964.
Mr Julian Amery
, Preston North
12:00,
11 December 1964
May I, first, congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his safe return from the mines, bombs, armed incursions and other attentions with which his visit was attended by hostile forces. We join with him in wholeheartedly condemning this senseless terrorism.
May I ask the right hon. Gentleman two specific questions? The statement of constitutional objectives seems to mark a certain departure of policy from a federal to a unitary concept. First, can he tell us whether this was something initiated from the British side, or whether it was a spontaneous initiative from the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers taken together?
Secondly, looking to the talks in March, can the right hon. Gentleman reaffirm that it remains the Government's policy to maintain a British base in Aden for the defence of the area and for the discharge of our wider responsibilities?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
An informal reference to the Council of the European Union.
