– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 6 May 1980.
Mr Michael English
, Nottingham West
12:00,
6 May 1980
I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the statement of the Secretary of State for Industry on Thursday last.
You will recollect, Mr. Speaker, that paragraph (4) of that Standing Order says that
In determining whether a matter is urgent Mr. Speaker shall have regard to the probability of the matter being brought before the House... by other means.
You will also recollect, Mr. Speaker, that, as reported at column 1643 of Hansard for Thursday 1 May, you, with entire propriety, said that you had taken note of the fact that the usual channels were likely to discuss this matter. Unfortunately, as far as we can determine, the usual channels may conceivably have discussed this matter but they did so after the Leader of the House had told the press that he was not going to do anything about it.
The degree of consideration that the right hon. Gentleman gave through the usual channels he himself announced on Friday, when he also said of the matter, that
it is not as urgent as all that."—[Official Report, 2 May 1980; Vol. 983, c. 1768.]
I think that it is quite clear that the matter must be urgent, since the Secretary of State for Industry was asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Dept-ford (Mr. Silkin) whether he could give us the authority under which he was making payments to Lazard Freres.
The point at issue, surely, is that the Secretary of State for Industry made a statement on Thursday which I wish to have debated by the House. He is making payments to Lazard Freres. I have no doubt that the Crown can, if it wishes, on the advice of a Minister, pay a person for whatever services it wishes. I know of no authority whereby a foreign company can be paid to release that person. There may be such authority, and one would have thought that at column 1634 of Hansard the Secretary of State for Industry would have explained what the authority was, instead of which he merely said:
The authority is the agreement of my colleagues".—[Official Report, 1 May 1980; Vol. 983, c. 1634.]
With respect, Mr. Speaker, that is not the law of the land. It may be that the law should be changed, in which case the Secretary of State should have announced that a Bill was to be introduced to change the law. The urgency of this matter, contrary to the understanding of the Leader of the House, is that this matter, it would seem, is being agreed before 1 July. Some agreement is being entered into which may or may not be in accordance with the law of the land, if it is not in accordance with the law of the land, this House should have the right to alter that law or to consider whether it wishes to do so. If it is in accordance with the law of the land, why was it that the Secretary of State was not informed by his civil servants of what authority he had? He does not seem to know. Certainly we do not know. In the whole course of the many leaks that have occurred over the weekend, no one has leaked the authority—the Act—that the right hon. Gentleman possesses for the statement that he made on Thursday.
I therefore suggest, Mr. Speaker, that before any further agreements are entered into, this House has a right to discuss the matter. I seek your authority, under Standing Order No. 9, to allow the House to discuss it.
Mr George Thomas
, Cardiff West
The hon. Member for Nottingham, West (Mr. English) gave me notice before 12 noon today that he would seek leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific
and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,
the statement of the Secretary of State for Industry on Thursday last
—and I think that I may add the words
and the Act under which he is acting.
I listened carefully to the hon. Gentleman, and I listened very carefully to the exchanges on Friday, which were quite clear. I have re-read them this morning in view of what the hon. Gentleman said. As the House knows, I am directed to take into account the several factors set out in the Standing Order but to give no reasons for my decision. I have given careful consideration to the hon. Member's representations, but I have to rule that they do not fall within the provisions of the Standing Order and, therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
An adjournment is a break in the course of parliamentary business.
The House adjourns at the end of each day's business.
On a daily basis the House adjourns, or breaks, half an hour after the moving of the adjournment debate.
The House is also adjourned for several holiday periods during the session.
The more lengthy adjournments - often coinciding with the academic calendar - are known as recesses.
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.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
