Contributions
4,038 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Business of the HouseWe have already lost the three hours that we would have had in Committee today. We had 12 hours set aside for Committee tomorrow, and Thursday would have been for both Report and…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseMay I encourage the hon. Lady to make a point of order, first, because they are a good way of getting in when otherwise it would be disorderly and, secondly, because if she were…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the House“Impossible” is a very strong word, but it is very hard to see how it is possible. I hope my hon. Friend had an enjoyable Saturday, and that it was more enjoyable after the House…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThank you, Mr Speaker. I think I am petitioning to make another statement. Owing to the loss of the programme motion, I have to make a statement, because the Bill now stands…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseMy hon. Friend and Somerset neighbour raises an intriguing prospect: that points of order should be determined by me. Should the House wish to do this, it could of course change…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI was fascinated to hear that the Bill was in limbo. Theologically speaking, it is reported that Pope Benedict XVI abolished limbo. I wonder whether the Bill is not in the heaven…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI am grateful to my hon. Friend for a characteristically good idea on how we might be able to proceed. The only difficulty is that the programme motion has been voted down, and to…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseFortunately, the matter of selecting amendments does not fall to me. It falls to wiser heads.22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI think the original understanding of limbo—one that is no longer widely accepted—is that it was a place for the souls of the unbaptised and for those who died before salvation…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseIt is hard to see how the time could have been divided up otherwise. My right hon. Friend mentions the commitment to leave on 31 October and says that people may have voted to…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe hon. Gentleman says that I prorogued Parliament, but there are two problems with that. Not only is it above and beyond my authority to have done such a thing, but had he…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe hon. Lady raises an important point. Everybody in the Government wishes to see the Assembly brought back together, and the consequences of not having had an Assembly have been…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseMy right hon. Friend makes an intriguing suggestion, although far be it from me to say that Opposition Members would not be able to speak at considerable length. One of the skills…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseIt is always a pleasure to listen to the hon. Gentleman’s dulcet tones, which we had the joy of doing last night, at considerable length. I am sorry that his amendments will not…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point and for his very reasonable suggestion on his motives for voting. I quite understand there is sometimes a conflict between…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe problem—the constraint—is, of course, the fact that this is a bicameral legislature. However long we sat, the House of Lords would also have to sit, and the deadline is…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI hate to quibble with the hon. Gentleman, but it is not a self-imposed deadline. It is a deadline that was selected by the European Union. Members may recall that the previous…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI am grateful to my hon. Friend for the point he raises, but we have already gone through this. We would need a further programme motion if we were to sit through the night. It…22 Oct 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseForms and tariffs are completely different things. I am so sorry that the Opposition are confused, after so many years of debate on this subject, between a form and a tariff. No…22 Oct 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseThe Government always take the concerns of the devolved Administrations very seriously. Leaving the European Union is primarily a reserved matter—it is a matter for the United…21 Oct 2019