Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:10 pm on 17 May 2024.
Jonathan Lord
Conservative, Woking
2:10,
17 May 2024
With the leave of the House, I would like to thank all Members of this House for attending. For those who attended Second Reading, I am pleased that we had fewer space-related puns today, although it was a very humorous—and, beneath the humour, very serious—debate that went on for some time and covered all issues. I also thank those Members who served on the Bill Committee, and the Clerk of private Members’ Bills, Anne-Marie Griffiths, who has given such good help and advice to me and to other colleagues who have brought forward private Members’ Bills in this session.
Our space industry is thriving, but this measure is vital to securing an equally exciting and dynamic future. I am so pleased that the Bill has cross-party support. The Shadow Minister, Matt Rodda, spoke very eloquently about the space cluster that we have in Surrey and the wider south-east. One of those companies is Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, which is just outside of my Constituency, but has many employees living in my constituency who will benefit. Other firms—large, medium and small—will grow in the UK and come to the UK if this measure is passed.
It was a great honour to see my hon. Friend speaking from the Dispatch Box—the first of many times, I am sure. This measure has cross-party support and, to ensure that exciting and dynamic future that I mentioned, I commend the Bill to the House.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.
If you've ever seen inside the Commons, you'll notice a large table in the middle - upon this table is a box, known as the dispatch box. When members of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet address the house, they speak from the dispatch box. There is a dispatch box for the government and for the opposition. Ministers and Shadow Ministers speak to the house from these boxes.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
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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
