Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 March 2001.
John Battle
Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
12:00,
27 March 2001
It must be jitters before the election—the hon. Lady is changing her position. On two occasions, she pressed us to get on with the measure: in July 1988—[HON. MEMBERS: " 1988?"] —she said she welcomed the Bill; in October 1999, I think that she said she would help Ministers in any way that she could. It does not sound like that now.
The amendments tabled by Lord Lamont in the other place did not receive support. I notice that he opposes not only the International Criminal Court but the Yugoslav tribunal and other forms of international justice. I hope that is not the case for current Opposition Front Benchers; I hope that they will stick by their original commitment. The Bill is vital to international justice—I hope that they still support it.
The House of Lords. When used in the House of Lords, this phrase refers to the House of Commons.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
