Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 13 Rhagfyr 1973.
Yes. I should like to see the Northern Ireland Assembly turned into a constituent Assembly for a round-table discussion by all parties. I should like the British Government to come in, not to tell us what we should do but to help us in the decisions that we hope would be arrived at. That is not an easy proposition. But a coalition forced on people can never work; a coalition freely entered into can work.
The House will pass the Bill. Many things will be said about myself and my hon. Friends. I read in a newspaper today that Loyalists disrupted the Assembly. There was a total and absolute untruth in The Times today, because the Speaker adjourned the Northern Ireland Assembly and there was no uproar in the Assembly. Not only did he adjourn the Assembly but he brought in the police to prevent Members of the Assembly going about their lawful duties in the Assembly. We have all these things with which to contend.