Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Culture, Media and Sport – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 22 January 2001.
Julian Lewis
Conservative, New Forest East
12:00,
22 January 2001
Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the hon. Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) on finding a 75-year-old in his Constituency who is so impressed by the measure? Does he agree that the hon. Gentleman is more likely to find many more 65-year-olds who are distinctly underwhelmed by the 75p rise in the basic pension that they received? Is not the real reason why the Government are so keen to give out free television licences that they want to maximise the number of people who will be exposed to the BBC's propaganda, orchestrated by the Government cronies who they have put at the head of the corporation?
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
