– in the House of Commons at 4:58 pm on 27 April 2026.
Stephen Flynn
SNP Westminster Leader
4:58,
27 April 2026
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. When I asked how the Government intend to vote tomorrow, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister said that he would not answer, because the question did not pertain to the motion before us. He then used that as a justification for not answering the questions of numerous Opposition Members. How are we supposed to get an answer from a Minister when they believe themselves to be not only a member of the Cabinet, but the Speaker, or perhaps a Deputy Speaker, of the House of Commons?
Nusrat Ghani
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee
The right hon. Member has got his point on the record. Unfortunately, I am not responsible for the content of Ministers’ speeches, let alone the answers—if only we were. We do not want to continue this debate, but that point is, no doubt, now on the record.
Alex Burghart
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On this afternoon’s carry-over motion on the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, over the weekend, the Government briefed journalists that they would bring forward amendments to the Bill in order to give Members reassurance that adequate protection would be given to veterans. However, this morning, no Government amendments appeared on the Amendment paper. Is there anything that His Majesty’s Opposition can do to require the Government to publish those amendments in advance of this afternoon’s debate?
Nusrat Ghani
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee
The Chair has no power to compel the Government to produce amendments earlier than the tabling deadline set out in the Standing Orders. However, those on the Treasury Bench will have heard the hon. Member’s comments. When we consider the carry-over motion later—there is some time for that—he will have a chance to raise the matter with the Secretary of State, who will no doubt be back in the Chamber.
Paul Holmes
Opposition Whip (Commons), Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have to admit that I am confused, which is not unusual. I seek your guidance. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister said that documents have been published in the first tranche relating to the box note issued to the Prime Minister on
Nusrat Ghani
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee
The hon. Member is a very professional Member of Parliament, and will no doubt know which other avenues he can take to get the answer. Unfortunately, I am not responsible for the answers that Ministers give here in the Chamber, but he will no doubt use every opportunity to hold the Minister to account.
John Martin McDonnell
Labour, Hayes and Harlington
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Over a number of weeks, I have been raising the issue of Labour Together and its link with the agency APCO Worldwide. APCO prepared a report for Labour Together that smeared journalists. I called for an inquiry into Labour Together. A number of hon. Members then submitted subject access requests to both Labour Together and APCO. Labour Together has gone for an extension, and the three-month period should be up shortly, but a number of us received responses from APCO. I raised this in the House; the responses were heavily redacted, but they demonstrated that APCO was collecting information on hon. Members of Parliament. Last week, a whistleblower—this is before the London Court of International Arbitration at the moment—confirmed that APCO had instructed one of the freelance employees involved in the investigations to destroy materials related to the investigation, and evidence. May I request again that Members on the Treasury Bench take back to the Prime Minister that we need a full, independent inquiry on the role that Labour Together, and APCO in particular, has played?
Nusrat Ghani
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee
I thank the right hon. Member for his point of order. The Government’s decision on whether to undertake an inquiry on the subject is not a matter for the Chair. However, his comments will have been heard by the Front-Bench team, and they will take action, if they wish to.
David Davis
Conservative, Goole and Pocklington
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is a rather more mundane point of order. Last Thursday, my website, provided by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, was compromised. Malicious links were inserted, redirecting users to south-east Asian gambling websites. I guess it could be worse. We took the site down immediately. It was restored, but then came under a sustained distributed denial of service attack traceable to China. In just 24 hours, the site was hit with 142 million requests, consuming nearly 800 gigabytes of data. This is not a minor nuisance; it is direct interference with a Member of Parliament carrying out his duties. What are the House and the House authorities doing to prevent these kinds of attacks on Members’ websites, and to help MPs protect themselves against interference by a foreign state?
Nusrat Ghani
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee, Chair, Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill Committee
I thank the right hon. Member for his point of order, and for raising this very serious matter. It would not be appropriate to discuss publicly the details of preventive action, and of how Members are supported to protect themselves against these kinds of cyber-threats. If Members would like security advice on how to make personal accounts and devices more resilient, they should contact the Parliamentary Security Department. For matters relating to parliamentary accounts or equipment, Members should contact the Parliamentary Digital Service through the PDS service desk.
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.
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.
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It is chaired by the prime minister.
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Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
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In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
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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.
A Member of Parliament (MP) is elected by a particular area or constituency in Britain to represent them in the House of Commons. MPs divide their time between their constituency and the Houses of Parliament in London. Once elected it is an MP's job to represent all the people in his or her constituency. An MP can ask Government Ministers questions, speak about issues in the House of Commons and consider and propose new laws.
