– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 29 Ebrill 1970.
Mr Cranley Onslow
, Woking
12:00,
29 Ebrill 1970
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that you will be aware that, since the latest Ministerial rearrangement, Questions to the Board of Trade cover a very wide range of subjects. I wish to draw your attention to the fact that we seem to have covered fewer than half the number on the list today. The number of Questions that we get through becomes smaller all the time. May I ask whether you are satisfied with the rate of progress which has been achieved today?
Dr Horace King
, Southampton, Itchen
Mr. Speaker is rarely satisfied with the number of Questions reached, for the reason that he has often stated. I am concerned about the hon. Member who puts down his Question for Oral Answer three weeks ahead only to find that it is not reached. Some Questions and Answers were long today. Long Questions and long Answers mean fewer Questions and fewer Answers.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
Further to that point of order. You will be aware that Question No. 36 was not reached. I knew that the answer was that more than £150,000 was contributed by banks to the Tory Party, and I wished to have it on the record.
Dr Horace King
, Southampton, Itchen
Order. I have a sneaking idea that, if the hon. Gentleman knew the answer, he need not have put down the Question.
Mr Ian Orr-Ewing
, Hendon North
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Knowing that you are as anxious to speed up Questions as back bench hon. Members are, do you consider it helpful if Questions which obviously will not be reached, like Nos. 51 and 52 today, have to be taken with earlier Questions? If they are beyond the normal limit of Questions, it is important that they take their rightful position instead of being brought forward.
Dr Horace King
, Southampton, Itchen
I do not propose to take late-numbered Questions, for the reason that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned. The problem sometimes is to judge what is a late number. Sometimes, on the very first day, as many as 65 Questions have been tabled.
Mr Reginald Paget
, Northampton
When we get through very few Questions, is not the simple answer that the Questions are interesting and that a lot of hon. Members want to contribute supplementaries? On the whole, is not that a good thing?
Dr Horace King
, Southampton, Itchen
There is a lot in what the hon. and learned Gentleman says. It is a matter of balance between the two factors mentioned today.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
