ROYAL MARRIAGES ACT, 1772 (Hansard, 1 November 1955)

§ 52. LIEUT.-COLONEL LIPTON
TO ask the Prime Minister whether he will introduce legislation to repeal or amend the Royal Marriages Act, 1772.

§ Mr. Mellish
On a point of order. I wish to seek your guidance and help, Mr. Speaker. On the Order Paper is Question No. 52, in the name of my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Brixton (Lieut.-Colonel Lipton), who has deferred the Question on a couple of occasions. In view of the circumstances, could you not, in your capacity as Speaker, appeal to my hon. and gallant Friend to have the decency to withdraw this Question?

§ Mr. Speaker
My only real concern is whether the Question is in order or not. It is in order to put a Question down which asks for action, so the hon. and gallant Member's Question is down on the Order Paper.

§ Lieut.-Colonel Lipton
Do I understand you to say now, Mr. Speaker, that the Question is definitely in order?

§ The Prime Minister
I will, with permission, answer this Question.
I have had this possibility very much in mind. I should, however, warn the House that this Act is of concern, not to the United Kingdom alone, but to all the Commonwealth countries of which Her Majesty is Queen; and amending legislation could not be undertaken here without their concurrence.

§ Lieut.-Colonel Lipton
Have Her Majesty's Government therefore decided, after considering this Act of 1772 in the light of 1955, that it still provides a useful and necessary weapon of control which Her Majesty's Government at the moment are reluctant to abandon, no matter what personal ordeal is involved for anyone?

§ The Prime Minister
In view of the hon. and gallant Member's imputations—which I think they really are—about the Act, I ought to add that the advice of Her Majesty's Government has neither been sought nor given to the Queen during recent events.

Mr. J. T. Price
On a point of order. Irrespective of the merits of the Question 847 which the Prime Minister has just answered, may I ask, Mr. Speaker, on what grounds the Prime Minister decided to answer Question No. 52 and to by-pass the rest?

§ Mr. Speaker
It is entirely a matter for the Prime Minister. I suppose he thought the Question was of sufficient public interest, and he asked my permission to answer it before he did so.

§ The Prime Minister
It was a difficult decision to take. This Question has been on the Order Paper for a long time, and as there has been a good deal of speculation about it, and as it has not been withdrawn, I thought it better that it should be answered.

Several Hon. Members rose
—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. We have finished with that Question now. There seems to be no Ministerial responsibility in that matter at all.