Mr David Alton: Yes.
Mr David Alton: I entirely agree. I think that the hon. Lady would also agree with me—given her experience of working with broken families and children who become the casualties of those families—that we too often trot out the ridiculous statement that divorce is being arranged for the good of the children, and that they should not be caught up in such circumstances. If children are asked what they...
Mr David Alton: Does the hon. Gentleman accept that that might be so if both partners freely agree to end their relationship, but in the circumstances that we are debating one or other partner will be divorced against his or her will? How will that leave them if they conscientiously object to the concept of divorce? Some people conscientiously believe that marriage is for life and that marital breakdown...
Mr David Alton: I think that the hon. Gentleman misunderstands the clause's purpose. If someone were a member of a particular denomination, it is likely that he or she would draw up a deed that was in accordance with the teachings of their denomination, but people of no faith or other faiths might nevertheless still want to record their dissent in some way. The hon. Gentleman is right, therefore, to say that...
Mr David Alton: I support the cross-party amendment, which stands in my name and in the names of the hon. Members for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Dame J. Knight) and for Bootle (Mr. Benton). The amendment raises some interesting issues that the House is right to spend a little time considering. I thank the hon. Lady for putting her arguments so cogently. The hon. Members who voted against the Second Reading of...
Mr David Alton: The hon. Lady has given her view of the Bill in a characteristic way. She and I were in the same Lobby on Second Reading. I should feel much happier about the Bill if it allowed the right of conscientious objection, but I recognise that genuine attempts have been made to improve it. The hon. Member for Edgbaston mentioned "two-tier marriages". I agree with her. That phrase has been thrown...
Mr David Alton: The new clause makes full provision for annulment, in the sense that if it could be demonstrated that one or other partner was not convinced of what he or she was doing at the time, and if that could be proved to the ecclesiastical authorities, it would be possible—in line with the teachings of the Church concerned—for the marriage to be dissolved as it could be now, through annulment....
Mr David Alton: I am grateful to the Minister for what he has just said, and I agree with him entirely. He will know that new clause 16, in my name, has not been selected for debate. It deals with family impact statements. Will he give the House an undertaking that he will refer that idea to the working party and review group? If civil servants and Ministers had to incorporate an impact statement when...
Mr David Alton: I strongly support the points that the hon. Gentleman has just made. Does he accept that the argument is always advanced—it was advanced even against Wilberforce and his companions—that legislators are trying to impose their morality on the nation? Wilberforce and his friends fought successfully in the House for 40 long years to repeal the slavery laws. Is it not the case that, in a...
Mr David Alton: I support the hon. Gentleman's argument, and I welcome his amendments. Is he heartened not only by the shift in public opinion that has been alluded to but by the fact that commentators such as Ruth Deech and Melanie Phillips, who come from a very different part of the political spectrum to him, have argued strongly against the abolition of fault? They recognise, as many of us do, that it is...
Mr David Alton: On standards and the culture of violence that has been created as a result of, in particular, Hollywood-style programmes being broadcast so much over our airwaves—400 killings are broadcast each week on British television—does the Secretary of State think that digital technology provides an opportunity to introduce the V-chip, as has already happened in the United States and Canada? Does...
Mr David Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many human embryos have been artificially created in the past five years; how many have been destroyed through experimentation; and how many are in deep freeze. [23471]
Mr David Alton: I thank the Minister for that reply. Does he agree that there is a major question to be answered about the 3,000 orphaned embryos whose parents have been lost, and that perpetually freezing embryos and extending their shelf lives by another five years is not a solution to their immediate problem? What does the Minister intend to do about that? What consideration is being given to the research...
Mr David Alton: For the sake of the record, it is right for me to point out precisely what was said. It was reported in The Independent newspaper some weeks ago. My hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) said that, in an ideal world there would be no more religious schools, which theoretically would close all Anglican, Catholic, Jewish and nonconformist schools. He also said that daily acts of worship...
Mr David Alton: I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate. It is an opportune time to discuss violence on television and in the electronic media generally because on the day that we return after the Easter recess, we shall have the Second Reading of the Broadcasting Bill, following completion of its Lords stages. There will be an opportunity to discuss whether we should include a V-chip—V...
Mr David Alton: I am glad that the hon. Gentleman raised that question. That has been one of the significant changes in this country, and I shall return to that subject. I agree with him. Before to my election to the House 17 years ago, I worked with children with special needs, many of whom were excluded from school because of disturbance or maladjustment. Those children were not exposed to the high level...
Mr David Alton: Notwithstanding the good faith of the Minister, and of the Lord Chancellor, does he accept that there is genuine concern on both sides of the House that, as was the result of other legislation enacted in the past 20 years, it will lead to more rather than fewer divorces? Perhaps the most devastating change in the social landscape in the past 20 years is the number of children who are caught...
Mr David Alton: May I draw attention to a case in Liverpool two years ago, in which a constituent of mine, when she said that she wanted her marriage to continue, was told by a judge that she was living in mediaeval times if she dared to suggest that she was being divorced against her will? Will the Minister assure the House that this new provision will be transmitted to judges in such a way that they will...
Mr David Alton: Where there are sink estates and deprived social conditions, does the Secretary of State agree—to return to the point made by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Dame J. Knight)—that the constant flow of violence via television and video contributes to the culture of violence? As the House is soon to consider a broadcasting Bill, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give...
Mr David Alton: I gladly associate myself with what the hon. Member for Gillingham (Mr. Couchman) said about the Minister of State and the Under-Secretary of State, who always dealt courteously with matters raised by hon. Members of all parties in Committee. I do not agree with him about the Bill, however. The hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) was right to remind us of what that dispassionate commentator...
