Oral Answers to Questions — Wales – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1974.
Mr Gwynoro Jones
, Carmarthen
12:00,
29 Gorffennaf 1974
asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to conclude discussions with the interested parties in Wales on the Kilbrandon Report.
Sir John Morris
Secretary of State for Wales
I expect these consultations to be completed by about the middle of August.
Mr Gwynoro Jones
, Carmarthen
Will my right hon. and learned Friend accept that Labour Members look forward to the Government's proposals in the white paper which will enable us to make it clear to the people of Wales that since the Conservative Opposition have totally turned their back on any form of elected body for Wales those who wish to see further advance and the creation of an elected assembly will have to support the Labour Party in the forthcoming election, whenever that may be?
Sir John Morris
Secretary of State for Wales
My hon. and learned Friend is correct. The Conservatives have offered nothing of substance by way of worthwhile devolution. Only the Labour Government can bring some form of devolution to Wales.
Mr Ian Grist
, Gogledd Caerdydd
Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman confirm what he said before the last election: that he is in favour of a legislative assembly for Wales?
Sir John Morris
Secretary of State for Wales
The hon. Member is completely misinformed.
Mr Dafydd Elis Thomas
, Merioneth
Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman accept the view of our party that whereas we agree that only a Labour Government will implement devolution, it is equally true that that will not happen unless there is substantial pressure on the Government from Plaid Cymru and the SNP? Does he agree that the Government would not have had a Majority in a number of important votes in the House on vital legislation if they had not had the support of our party?
Sir John Morris
Secretary of State for Wales
I am not sure whether the hon. Member can recall where the parliamentary pressure originally came from. I remind him that it was the Labour Government which set up the Kilbrandon Commission, a move which was ridiculed by members of Plaid Cymru at the time. When the Labour Government were fighting for their lives in a crucial vote on the debate on the Queen's Speech, the hon. Member and his hon. Friends voted against us. I shall be reminding him and Wales constantly of that in the coming months.
Mr Nicholas Edwards
, Pembroke
Is it the Minister's normal practice to comment on the views of a party when he has invited that party to present its views to him next day? Would it not have been better to have waited until he heard what we had to say?
Sir John Morris
Secretary of State for Wales
I have had the advantage of reading what emerged from the Conservative Party conference at Llandrindod Wells. Unless there is a substantial improvement in the forthcoming consultations, Wales will be deeply disappointed but not surprised at the Conservative Party.
Mr Emlyn Hooson
, Montgomery
Is not the Secretary of State being less than magnanimous to the hon. Member for Merioneth (Mr. Thomas)? Is it not the case that he and the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. Wigley) have supported the Government in almost every Division in this Parliament?
Sir John Morris
Secretary of State for Wales
I am always grateful for support for the enlightened policies put forward by the Government. The two hon. Members have supported the Government on many occasions, but at the end of the day the Government can be effective only if they have a sufficient number of supporters in the House of Commons and the two hon. Members cannot be counted among that number. The people of Wales will therefore have to decide whether they want devolution, and the only way to get it is through a Labour Government.
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.
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 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".
The Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
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.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
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 House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
