Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 13 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr Frank McManus
, Fermanagh and South Tyrone
12:00,
13 Rhagfyr 1973
What is a fact of life is that the people of the minority community by and large have realised that the Dublin Government care not for them or their problems or their future. The Loyalist community is learning to its cost that the British Government care not for it or its future.
Out of this situation there emerges hope. Perhaps it will lead to some sort of real power sharing rather than the enforced and artificial business that is being pushed down the throats of all sections of the population.
I return to a point I raised when I spoke in this House last. The white paper said there ought to be widespread support in the community for the Executive. The election results show that the SDLP representatives of the Catholic community got less than 49 per cent. of the Catholic vote. The hon. Member for Antrim, North told us that the Loyalists represent two-thirds of the Unionists vote. If we add two-thirds of one side to 51 per cent. of the other there is obviously a Majority against. That is the basis of my case. A fair and reasonable way out is to put it to the test. Let the new Executive go to the country with its plans and proposals and seek the endorsement of the electorate. If it gets it, I shall be the first to come to this House and say it is worthy of support.
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.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
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.
