Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 20 Mehefin 1991.
John Gummer
Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
12:00,
20 Mehefin 1991
The hon. Gentleman proves only one thing—that he has no idea about agriculture—every time that he comes to the Dispatch Box. Farmers' incomes have fallen because the price in the market has fallen. Therefore, support prices have risen. When market prices rise it is possible not to increase support prices. [Interruption.] If the hon. Gentleman presses this matter, the farmers of Britain will know that if there were a Labour Government they could expect a slashing attack on their incomes, a destruction of the farming industry, because the Opposition do not even care about agriculture enough to understand it—[Interruption.]
If you've ever seen inside the Commons, you'll notice a large table in the middle - upon this table is a box, known as the dispatch box. When members of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet address the house, they speak from the dispatch box. There is a dispatch box for the government and for the opposition. Ministers and Shadow Ministers speak to the house from these boxes.
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".
