Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 13 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr John Biggs-Davison
, Chigwell
12:00,
13 Rhagfyr 1973
I am glad to follow the hon. Member for Ripon (Mr. Austick), who addressed the House graciously from the Liberal benches. This is a notable debate in more ways than one; the Liberal Party outnumbers Her Majesty's Government's official Opposition by three to one. The hon. Gentleman made a number of constructive suggestions and asked a number of questions, to which I hope we shall hear answers.
The hon. Gentleman said that perhaps detention could be ended for an experimental period. I am rather at a loss to follow him. We are talking about matters of life and death and we cannot afford to take chances.
I do not agree that we need to have a border plebiscite more frequently than the minimum period which has been provided. I should have thought that to have a plebiscite every five years on the position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom would have a profoundly unsettling effect and would put back all the economic and social progress which the hon. Gentleman mentioned and to which we all attach importance.
I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State upon what he called his ejection from the usual channel. In so doing, I do not unsay anything which I have said in the past about that act of constitutional infanticide, the throttling by the Mother of Parliaments of a daughter Parliament. One of the results of that act, and part of the price which we have paid, has been the arrival upon the streets in Northern Ireland of so-called Protestant loyalist private armies. Some of their members vie with the IRA in murder, arson, torture and extortion. They studied the form. They saw that two sides could play at violence. They saw that violence achieved results.
Those of us who most deeply regretted the break-up of the Northern Ireland Parliament should be the first to give a welcome to the new constitution, with all its imperfections and contradictions. This is because it represents perhaps an admission that a wrong turning was taken, and it represents the beginning of a return to regional self-government for Northern Ireland. As my right hon. Friend knows better than anyone, in view of the position he occupied until recently, this Parliament has proved inadequate to the proper scrutiny of Northern Ireland expenditure and has been unequal to anything more than the most cursory examination of far-reaching Northern Ireland legislation which it has been powerless to amend.
Broadly speaking, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly will be what their members make of them. Let anyone who seeks not just to oppose, which is a con-
stitutional function, but to disrupt, consider his reputation, however lightly he may take the peace of the Province. In some respects, the scope of the new Assembly will be larger than that of the old Parliament. Who would have thought a few weeks or months ago that Her Majesty's Government, in reaching an agreement with various parties to this question, would be able to express their willingness to
… discuss the devolution of normal policing with the Northern Ireland Executive and the police.
The formula concerning the RUC seems weird and wonderful—the formula worked out so painfully at Sunningdale. Yet there is historical precedent for almost everything in Irish affairs. On 30th March 1922, Michael Collins met James Craig in order to try to bring about peace between North and South. In return for the complete cessation of IRA hostilities in the Six Counties, it was agreed between Craig and Collins that Roman Catholics should be recruited to the special constabulary, more especially in nationalist areas, and the Northern Government of the day even agreed to their selection by an advisory committee nominated by the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State and presided over by the Bishop of Connor and Down, Dr. McRory.
I mention this not because I underrate the misgivings of Unionist colleagues that something terrible is intended by this weird and wonderful formula, but to point out that if their hard-line predecessors were willing to go along with a system of that kind, I think they can go along with this new formula.
It is indeed terribly important that no one should underrate at this hour the misgivings of loyalists—in the true sense—particularly on the Council of Ireland. I think that, whatever may be thought of his opinions, my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Down, South (Captain Orr) made a very remarkable and sincere speech which we would all do well to ponder. Of course it is true that a Council of Ireland has long been Unionist policy, but the Unionist party was always thinking, I believe, in terms of an intergovernmental body dealing with practical and technical matters of common concern.
I confess that I am a little worried by the grandiose style of the proposed Council of Ireland. After all, in this consultative assembly there will be a Republican predominance, and if the Assembly does come into existence that Republican predominance, if it is taken too far, could be ultimately resisted only by a veto, which would always tend to be interpreted outside as negative and reprehensible. Of course, we need the fullest inter-governmental co-operation between the two Irish Governments, and the Sunningdale statement referred to the inter-dependence of
… the whole field of law and order".
The Council of Ireland will be justified to the Unionist Majority and to many other people only if it is part of an effort to bring about a concerted system of security against forces in Ireland which are implacably hostile to constitutional Government in Dublin just as much as they are to the Government of Northern Ireland.
The political settlement which is sought depends upon the crushing of terrorism. The Provisional IRA has been beaten out of Belfast to the border. That is why the border is such a perilous place today. Present in the Chamber are my hon. Friend the Member for Esher (Mr. Mather) and my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Dr. Glyn), who, only two days ago, were with me on the border. We found there that there was a concern lest the political settlement which is desired, the atmosphere of Sunningdale, if one can call it that—I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. I am afraid I must sit down.
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.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
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 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".
