Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 4 December 1973.
Mr John Mendelson
, Penistone
12:00,
4 December 1973
I have no time to give way. The trade union movement has always adopted the same tradition as the rest of the nation, namely, that in framing legislation we must take due regard of fairness and reasonableness. That is why all the talk about the majesty of the law is so much propaganda and poppycock, not least in the mouth of the Tory orator who is now Lord Chancellor.
The rest of the nation has always recognised that when legislation is framed it must be fair and reasonable. The legal and constitutional history of our people is full of striking examples in which people have said not only that they will try, by debate and criticism, to get legislation overturned, but that they are not going to be a party to a piece of legislation by working it themselves.
Here I take issue with my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham, North, who, I thought, made a striking and excellent speech, particularly strong in its middle passage. It is true that the Majority of the trade union movement decided not to ask its affiliated unions not to appear in front of this court. It is true that they passed no decision that everybody should appear in front of it. There is no issue on that between my right hon. Friend and myself. But what he under-valued, and what should be put on record, at least from this side of the House, is that when the engineers decided not to work this legislation they were acting in the long, honourable tradition of many people in this country over the years who have said, "We are taking no part in this", and were in no way acting illegally in making that decision.
A group of workers who have united to promote their common interests.
To allow another Member to speak.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
