Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 27 Mai 1924.
Mr Charles Masterman
, Manchester Rusholme
I beg to move,
That, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act, 1919, this House do direct that the Bishopric of Blackburn Measure, 1923, be presented to His Majesty for Royal Assent.
This is a Motion which is made under the Enabling Act of 1919 and I do not think I need detain the House very long in explaining it for I believe it is entirely non-controversial. I am glad to see it is supported by the hon. Member for Carlisle (Mr. Middleton), representing the Labour party, and I know it is also supported by all the Manchester Members, including my hon. and gallant colleague and Member for Hulme (Sir J. Nall). It is a motion made on the initiation of the Church Assembly in the accustomed form and on the unanimous recommendation of the Ecclesiastical Committee. The Measure is for the Division of the Diocese of Manchester into two parts. The Diocese contains nearly three million inhabitants, and over 600 parishes. It has enormously increased in population, and
all parties in the church are united in desiring the creation of a new diocese for the northern part of the area which now constitutes the diocese of Manchester. I am justified in saying that no Opposition of any sort comes from any other religious body in the district. In the Manchester district, at least, all the religious bodies live together in the utmost harmony and friendliness. In view of the fact that the Measure is unanimously recommended and that it comes entirely under the terms of the Enabling Act, I ask the House to be good enough to accept it.
The Ecclesiastical Committee is a parliamentary committee established by an Act of Parliament in 1919 to consider measures passed by the General Synod of the Church of England.
The committee is appointed for the duration of a Parliament and consists of 15 members drawn from the House of Commons and the House of Lords who are nominated by the Speaker and lord chancellor respectively.
An example of an issue which was considered in recent years by the Ecclesiastical Committee is the proposal from the Church of England that it should be allowed to appoint women priests.
Matters concerning the Established Church of England are dealt with at Question Time by a parliamentary representative of the Church Commissioners.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
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".
