Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 3:33 pm on 17 March 2009.
Bill Cash
Conservative, Stone
3:33,
17 March 2009
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. My constituents in Stone are also gravely affected by the Healthcare Commission report. Do you not agree that it is right that the Secretary of State should come to the House? I tabled a question asking him whether he will come to the House to make a statement and to explain the situation, in view of the fact that the Healthcare Commission has said that the hospital has been very badly let down and that there have been appalling standards in the hospital?
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 Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
Annotations
barbara richards
Posted on 18 Mar 2009 11:57 am (Report this annotation)
I was assaulted at Stafford Hospital by staff in the A and E on 16th November 2006. I had a panic attack following a councelling session for child abuse (I am one of the Staffordshire Pindown survivors) and the idiots sent me to the place where I was abused as a child for therapy.
I was taken to A and E and the nurse took my shoes and socks off and assaulted me by repeatingly jabbing my feet with a biro. Then they threw me off the trolly onto the A and E floor and left me there for 20 minutes, sobbing and trying to stop them. But as I was paralised through trauma at the time, and unable to speak properly, I was unable to do anything about it. I heard thenm sneering and jeering at me, it went on for about 20 minutes, then they hauled me into a wheelchair and threatened to call the police. I begged them to call the police and told them that I was a choild abuse and rape survivor. Then they said that they weren't going to call the police after all, and they left me in a packed waiuting area, crying.
An old lady came to help me, and some students drove me to Stafford police station. I told the policeman there what had happened, but he just didn't seem bothered - he asked me what I had got in my bag, I think he thought I was on drugs! He called my fiancee who came to take me home. But Stafford Police did not investigate, even though I was assaulted in front of a waiting area cram packed with people, who had witnessed the whole thing.
I wrote two letters of complaint to the hospital but got nowhere at all.
I feel like I have no rights to decent treatment in this country. I feel like I don't even exist some days.
barbara richards
Posted on 25 Mar 2009 10:45 am (Report this annotation)
I don't understand how people can be treated in this way. What is happening to this country? If I saw someone crying I would help them, but people are acting in such a cruel and wierd way these days. It's almost as if most people are brainwashed or something!
How can a completly helpless person be physically assaulted in front of a whole waiting room full of people, the person not even able to speak properly or move their arms and legs, and the staff shouting and jeering and sneering, and people not get very angry about it? I would be outraged if I saw it happening to someone else, anyone with any decency about them would be. I would have shouted "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!!" if I had witnessed what they did to me, instead of being the victim.
I am glad this happened to me in a way. I now know that awful things like this happen. I would never have believed it possible had I not experienced the cruel treatment for myself.