Interpretation

Part of Transport Bill (Allocation of Time) – in the House of Commons at 5:06 pm on 17 January 1983.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Michael Brown Mr Michael Brown , Brigg and Scunthorpe 5:06, 17 January 1983

The right hon. Gentleman has anticipated my remarks. I shall come to the precise point of the purpose of a Committee stage.

I got the impression, when the right hon. Gentleman replied to my intervention, that on this occasion the Leader of the House should listen to what he had to say about the Transport Bill on the ground that the minority opposed to it was a large one—I am quoting his words almost exactly. I do not think that it is right when we discuss a guillotine motion to talk in terms of who constitute the minority and how large it is. The right hon. Gentleman is right. On the last occasion the minority consisted in the main of all the Ulster political parties except the SDLP and, I accept, only 20 or 25 hon. Members on the Conservative Benches. It is irrelevant from which side of the House hon. Members speak in a discussion about a guillotine motion.

Clearly Opposition Members wish to defeat the Transport Bill in its entirety. That is a legitimate aim. In the same way, I was opposed to the Northern Ireland Bill and used whatever parliamentary devices were available to me in Committee to defeat it within the rules of order. I acknowledge the point made by the hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) that everything said in Committee must be relevant, otherwise hon. Members would be ruled out of order.

Those who wish to defeat a Bill will obviously use the Committee stage to fulfil that purpose. You, Mr. Deputy Speaker, had the misfortune of taking the Chair in the long Committee stage of the Northern Ireland Bill. I make no apology for the fact that, when I was speaking on the amendments to that Bill, my only aim was to defeat the Bill. Of course, I was interested in the amendments but my arguments were used mainly to try to defeat the Bill and to persuade the Government to drop it. The same tactics are now being adopted by the Opposition towards the Transport Bill.

While Opposition Members have had to address their remarks to relevant matters—otherwise they should have been ruled out of order—they were not especially interested in the arguments about the amendments, but wished primarily to defeat the Bill, as I wished to defeat the Northern Ireland Bill last year. That was the way in which they used the period up to the point when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State brought a timetable motion before the House.