Petitions – in the House of Commons at 7:05 pm on 21 March 2007.
Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
7:05,
21 March 2007
I wish to present a petition from the residents of Waverley and the "Save Our Rural Post Offices" campaign.
If you visited my Constituency, Madam Deputy Speaker, you would see a number of villages that, on first sight, appear pretty idyllic. The fabric of those communities, however, depends very much on rural post offices, which are much more than places to buy stamps; they are places where people from the whole community can interact, particularly older people, of whom there are many in the villages. The petitioners have collected a total of 627 signatures as an indication of their concern and strength of feeling about their community's vital lifeblood, which is seriously under threat.
The petition states:
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State to ensure that these vital community services that make up such an essential part of the social fabric of our communities are kept open.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
To lie upon the Table.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
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.
The Deputy speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in the absence of the Speaker.
The deputy speaker's formal title is Chairman of Ways and Means, one of whose functions is to preside over the House of Commons when it is in a Committee of the Whole House.
The deputy speaker also presides over the Budget.
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
