Private Bill Committees (Declaration by Members)

– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 28 June 1976.

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Photo of Mr Brian Sedgemore Mr Brian Sedgemore , Luton West 12:00, 28 June 1976

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I wish to raise a matter of which I have given you notice, and therefore I can be brief.

On 23rd June I received a directive from the Committee of Selection saying that I had been appointed to the Committee on a Private Bill dealing with the Methodist Church [Lords] Bill. It was couched in the usual form of an offer which one could not refuse—"Sign this declaration or you will be reported to the House" and "Turn up in time or you will be fined and thrown into the Tower." My first reaction was to sign the declaration, and my second was to read it. It says: I, the undersigned, having been selected by the Committee of Selection to serve as a Member of the Committee on the Methodist Church Bill [Lords] hereby declare, that my constituents have no local interest, and that I have no personal interest, in the said Bill. I then looked at the Long Title of the Bill which says: An Act to make further provision concerning the constitution, purposes, doctrinal standards and property of the Methodist Church in Great Britain. It is clear that there are many Methodist churches in my constituency, as there are in every constituency in Great Britain. In fact, my constituents have an interest in the broad matters concerning the Bill, and it is virtually certain that they have a specific interest in the property referred to in the Bill.

I wrote to the Clerk of the Committee of Selection saying that although I was happy to serve on the Committee, I could not sign the declaration. The Clerk's reply of 24th June caused me some concern. He said: My advice is that you can safely sign the declaration form because the Methodist Church is so large an organisation that one may assume that there are members of it in most if not all constituencies. The phrase 'local interest' is by practice taken to mean an interest peculiar to one area rather than others. It seems to me that I am being told that I may sign the declaration knowing it to be false, on the basis that it is a pretty fair bet that other Members who sign the declaration will also know that it is false.

If the intention of the Standing Orders is to prevent constituents getting at Members of Parliament, they would seem all the more necessary by virtue of the size of the organisation and the fact that the organisation has members with a local interest in nearly every constituency. It seems to me that I should either be asked to sign a different declaration or that those Members with Methodist churches in their constituencies should not sign the declaration, and that we should perhaps turn to the Irish Members. I am not in the least inclined to sign the declaration and I do not believe other hon. Members are either.

Photo of Mr George Thomas Mr George Thomas , Cardiff West

I am grateful, as I know the House will be, to the hon. Gentleman for the way in which he has advanced his problem. The House will not be surprised to learn that I shall ask for time in which to consider the points that have been submitted. I shall make my ruling tomorrow.

Photo of Mr George Thomas Mr George Thomas , Cardiff West

I could tell the right hon. Gentleman what he is, but I will not.