Support For Members Who Have Chosen Not To Take Their Seats

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 3:48 pm on 10 March 2005.

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Photo of Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn Labour, Islington North 3:48, 10 March 2005

I shall ensure that I finish in time for the winding-up speeches, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

I assure Sir Patrick Cormack that I do not consider myself part of the payroll vote and that, as far as I am concerned, this is to be an absolutely free vote. If a Minister wishes to make an intervention to confirm the position on the payroll, I shall be happy to accept it.

The hon. Gentleman's final point is important. We are moving from the bizarre to the ridiculous by, in a single afternoon, looking in opposite directions on two extremely important issues. This is described as a House of Commons matter; I prefer to describe it as a democratic matter. The House of Commons is behaving like a golf club in the way it treats its Members.

Where do we get our authority from? Is it from being in the House and from some higher authority above us, or is it from the people who elected us? We must recognise that the Members whose allowances we propose to take away were elected, just like all the rest of us. They have a duty to represent their constituents and during all their election campaigns they made their position clear. In the case of Mr. Adams, he has made it clear since 1983 that on election he would not take his seat because he did not believe that the British Parliament should have jurisdiction over that part of Ireland.