– in the House of Commons at 10:27 pm on 29 June 2009.
Parmjit Dhanda
Labour, Gloucester
10:27,
29 June 2009
I have a petition from more than 160 residents and others in my Constituency. The names were collected on the streets of Gloucester by a former member of the armed forces.
The petition states:
The Petition of those concerned about bullying in the Armed Forces,
Declares that bullying in the British Army should be stopped once and for all.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Defence to take firm and positive action to ensure that bullying in the British Army is once and for all put a stop to now.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
[P000384]
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.
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
