– in the House of Commons am ar 17 Gorffennaf 1925.
Mr Henry Cautley
, East Grinstead
Before moving the Amendment standing in my name, would it be convenient if I were to ask you, Sir, as to the 0063ourse you think the Debate ought to take?
Mr John Whitley
, Halifax
In the first place, will the House allow me to say that I think, for the credit of the House, we ought to dispose of this matter completely in the course of the present sitting. I hope I shall have the assistance of Members in all parts of the House in doing that. If the discussions be reasonably brief, it is my desire to bring before the House three main points, and there may be two other subsidiary points.
Of the three main points, the first will be the Amendment of the hon. and learned Member for East Grinstead (Sir H. Cautley), proposing to leave out Sub-section (2). The effect of that Amendment, if carried, would be to decide that there should be no extension of the period of Summer Time. If that were accepted by the House, it would, of course, dispose of the whole question, but if that be rejected by the House, I should reserve an opportunity for a short discussion and Division on two periods, the date for the beginning of Summer Time and the date for the ending of Summer Time.
If the House refuse to extend Summer Time in the spring by two weeks, there would then be an opening for the Amendment standing in the name of the Son. Member for Dundee (Mr. T, Johnston) and some other Members, if desired, proposing1 to limit the time to four months, instead of the present five months. I hope that the first Amendment in the name of the hon. and learned Member for East Grinstead, to leave out Sub-section (2), will be disposed of in a reasonably short time, in which case I should then call the Amendment in the name of the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Wells (Sir Robert Sanders), which would limit the period in the spring to the existing time.
After that, I shall call the Amendment in the name of the hon. Member for Forfarshire (Sir Harry Hope), which proposes to limit the period in the autumn to what it is at present. If either of these two later Amendments be carried, it would leave an opportunity for a Motion for a further restriction of the time, if desired. I hope the House will dispose of the Amendments and the Third Reading in the course of the sitting.
Sir Alexander Sprot
, Lanarkshire Northern
I would like to raise this point of Order for your consideration, Sir. I wish to quote the words of the Home Secretary on the occasion of the Second Reading of this Bill. He said:
The decision as to the time of beginning and the time of ending should not be taken in Committee… I propose to arrange on the Report stage for a free Division without Government Whips, first as to the date of commencement and secondly as to the data of conclusion of Summer Time."—[Official, Report, 13th March, 1925; col.1811, Vol. 181.]
I contend that that points to at least two Divisions, one as regards the beginning, and one as regards the end. If I understood you correctly, Sir, and the Amendment of the hon. Member for East Grinstead be carried, we should not have an opportunity of discussing separately the time of beginning and the time of ending. Speaking for myself, I prefer the Amendment of the hon. and learned Member for East Grinstead to the original proposal in the Bill, and I would accept that if I could not get anything better. But supposing that were carried, I should still desire to have, under the pledge of the Home Secretary, an opportunity of taking the opinion of the House separately as regards the beginning and the ending of Summer Time.
Mr John Whitley
, Halifax
The plan I have indicated is arranged in order to carry out what is the understanding. The hon. and gallant Member clearly will vote against the hon. and learned Member for East Grinstead should he go to a Division, and then he will have opportunities separately on the two points.
In a normal session there are up to ten standing committees on bills. Each has a chair and from 16 to 50 members. Standing committee members on bills are appointed afresh for each new bill by the Committee of Selection which is required to take account of the composition of the House of Commons (ie. party proportions) as well as the qualification of members to be nominated. The committees are chaired by a member of the Chairmen's Panel (whose members are appointed by the Speaker). In standing committees the Chairman has much the same function as the Speaker in the House of Commons. Like the Speaker, a chairman votes only in the event of a tie, and then usually in accordance with precedent. The committees consider each bill clause by clause and may make amendments. There are no standing committees in the House of Lords.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
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 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.
