Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Wales – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 21 March 2007.
Peter Hain
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, The Secretary of State for Wales
11:30,
21 March 2007
I agree with my hon. Friend, and I commend her and the work going on at Bangor university, which I visited last year. I was enormously impressed by its attempt to make Wales a leader in the fight against climate change. We therefore hope that Opposition parties will back our policies to make sure that renewable, clean energy is the dominant energy supply in Wales.
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".
