It is a privilege to be called upon to speak in the debate, and as a new Member I am conscious of the opportunity it gives me to join the select few referred to by the hon. Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Merlyn Rees) when he mentioned sitting into the small hours of many nights in an attempt to bring peace to Ulster. If I am able to play some small part in that process I shall be satisfied, particularly because when I look back to 1967 I see that, with the exception of a very small point, almost all the proposals my party put forward then as a prerequisite for a solution have come about.

The Bill must be welcomed not for what it achieves in itself but for the achievement which it represents. In particular, it symbolises the successful efforts of the former Secretary of State and the Northern Ireland Office, for which no praise is too high, the help of the hon. Member for Leeds, South, and the magnanimity and moderation of the main participants in the Executive-designate. The very fact that an amending Bill is before the House is testimony to the political compromise which has been achieved in the past three weeks. It is a compromise of historic importance which envisages for the first time since the Government of Ireland Act more than 50 years ago that more than one party will govern the Province of Ulster.

The Bill sets out only the machinery for the operation of that compromise. Unlike other Bills, it tells us nothing about that compromise or how it will work in practice or, indeed, whether it will work at all. The whole thing is completely dependent upon the attitudes and behaviour of the participants. Mr. Faulkner and his fellow administrators are still termed collectively the Executive-designate and will remain so until they actually sit down to work. There are a number of difficulties in the functioning of the Executive which I hope the Minister will clarify when he winds up or which will be clarified in the white paper which was promised and which we welcome.

How does the Minister envisage the principle of collective responsibility among Executive Members working in practice? For example, if an SDLP Minister introduces a measure which is not approved by Members of the Executive, will he be required to resign? If such a measure is not approved by the Assembly, will the entire Executive be required to resign? If the unanimity rule is to operate among Executive Members for every measure that is introduced, it is surely a recipe for impotence. I can envisage difficulties in the event of the Executive being defeated and calling an election to resolve the doubt. But there should not be too many difficulties in calling an election at the end of an Executive's term of office now that general differences of opinion among potential Executive Members can be brought out and adjudicated on by the electorate through the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.

There is also a possible difficulty of votes of no confidence in the leaders of political parties represented in the Executive, or defections from within the ranks of their supporters in the Assembly. How does the Minister foresee the resolution of such problems? I refer particularly to the possibility of Mr. Brian Faulkner being unseated as Leader of the Ulster Unionists by the Unionist Council. In general, it appears that the distribution of portfolios has been done in a sensitive and fair manner. However, a Unionist as Minister of Finance might well cause problems when the budget is being distributed among Departments. A sensible compromise might be to ensure that the balance between the political parties in the appointment of junior Ministers is maintained, thus extending the concept of power sharing in the lower tiers of government.

There are a number of other factors which will determine the success or failure of the new initiative. We must consider the position of the Ulster Loyalists and other members of the Assembly who oppose the Executive. It would be wise to remember that the original power-sharing concept never envisaged that the Executive should have to operate against an Opposition, even an official Opposition. The original idea was that all elements in Northern Ireland politics represented in the Assembly should work together on the Executive, each sharing power and responsibility. Those who now refuse that opportunity and stand outside the Executive were among the most vociferous opponents of the abolition of Stormont, which they saw as removing sovereignty from the elected representatives of the Ulster people.

The new Assembly and Executive represent an attempt to return some, albeit not all, of the sovereignty to all the people of Ulster. It appears that some people are forsaking the reality of sharing in political power and influence for what seems to be the façade of resentment and demagoguery. They are sacrificing their first opportunity—and it may be their last—of effectively, directly representing their constituents for the sake of beating the old Orange drum of no surrender.

The events of the last 24 hours have shown the true nature of so-called loyalists as a negative, destructive force which is pledged not only to boycott the Executive but to prevent it from operating and to destroy the Northern Ireland Assembly. All that is being done under the guise of democracy.

Among other unresolved problems are the future of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the general policing of Ulster, the rent and rate strike, the future of internment and detention without trial and the problem of extradition. Ideally, the slate should be wiped clean before we start a new and revolutionary phase in Ulster history. We all know that that cannot be done. Now is surely the time for significant concessions to be made by both Ulster politicians and the Westminster Government. Both Mr. Faulkner and the hon. Member for Belfast, West (Mr. Fitt) have conceded much, and they must continue to concede. I hope that the Westminster Government will make their contribution.

I hope that the committee studying law enforcement in the Province and the Under-Secretary of State's Committee set up to assist the chief constable and the police authority will report urgently on the rôle of the RUC in the community.

I hope that some formula will be devised whereby those who have participated in the rent strike—I understand that some people owe up to £500—will not be pressurised for full payment forthwith.

The Liberal Party has been implacably opposed to internment since its re-introduction. It believes that the time may well be right for the abolition of internment for an experimental period.

Many problems may be helped to solution by the formation of the Council of Ireland, which the Liberal Party welcomes unreservedly and which it has proposed for many years. It is good to see that many Liberal policies are at last finding favour. The idea of a common law enforcement area and the supervision of police forces on both sides of the border by the Council should be pursued as far as possible. The basis of non-partisan links between the two Irish Governments, particularly in joint capital ventures such as the common power transmission scheme, will not only save valuable financial resources but will convince doubters on both sides that there is much to be achieved by economic and social co-operation, regardless of ultimate political aims.

The Liberal Party hopes fervently that the Executive will be successful and that the realignment of political opinion in Northern Ireland will be achieved. It may well be that the procedures for a referendum on the border will have to be made more flexible. Perhaps the referendum should be held every five years and not every 10 years as is now provided.

There is still one matter on which Liberals would like to see a fundamental change. We would welcome the fairer representation of the people of Ulster in this House. We believe that those Members should be elected on the basis of the single transferable vote, as are other representatives in Ulster.

I hope that the Bill will be speedily passed through the House. The Liberal Party welcomes it and will support those who will have the onerous task of implementing it. It seems significant, as was mentioned earlier by the Secretary of State, that if the Bill is passed the Executive-designate will become an Executive on 1st January. It is significant that that should happen at the start of the New Year.