Early-day Motions

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Leader of the House – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 23 April 2007.

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Photo of John Bercow John Bercow Conservative, Buckingham 2:30, 23 April 2007

In echoing the concern expressed by my right hon. Friend Sir George Young, may I reinforce the argument by suggesting that the problem with the current system—and it would also be a problem with a system allowing early-day motions to be tabled online—is that it appears to many people to be profoundly ritualistic and to have no end result? Will the Deputy Leader of the House consider again the idea that if a decent number of signatures is achieved, that should be the threshold for a substantive debate, as suggested by Mr. Allen—but preferably not on a Friday? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday would do.