HL Deb 21 October 1971 vol 324 cc482-4
EARL ST. ALDWYN

My Lords, in view of the large number of your Lordships who wish to take part in the debate on the Common Market next week it has been agreed, through the usual channels, that the debate should now run over three days. It will, therefore, take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. I hope that it may be possible to conclude the debate before dinner time on Thursday, and the House will then adjourn during pleasure until about 10 o'clock or 10.15 and then reassemble for Prorogation. Dinners will be available that night. If it appears likely that there will be sufficient speakers to warrant sitting later on Tuesday and Wednesday, dinners will also be available on those days.

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Earl the Government Chief Whip for securing agreement to this course of action, rather than adopt what I thought the bizarre proposal that we should meet on Monday and not until 10 o'clock on Thursday evening. I am grateful for the change he has made. May I ask at what time it is proposed we should start the debate? Through the usual channels we agreed on 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday and 2 o'clock on Wednesday. In the light of the further names added to the list I wonder whether it would be agreeable to meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday also.

EARL ST. ALDWYN

My Lords, we shall be meeting at 2 o'clock on Wednesday because there are two Introductions that day and it is obviously desirable that we should get these over and that the House should be able to get down to Business by 2.30. As regards Thursday, there are complications and difficulties about meeting at 2 o'clock on a Thursday, but perhaps we could discuss this point through the usual channels.

LORD BYERS

My Lords, the noble Earl says it is hoped that the vote will be taken before dinner. Will he give the House some indication as to when he usually dines?

EARL ST. ALDWYN

My Lords, I am fairly flexible in my dinner time, but I hope that we may be able to conclude our debate (because I know that many noble Lords would like to get home that night, and some have to catch trains at a comparatively early hour) and have a Division in the neighbourhood of 7 o'clock.

LORD GLADWYN

My Lords, will our vote therefore be taken before the vote in another place?

EARL ST. ALDWYN

My Lords, while it would appear that we may be able to conclude our busines at the sort of time I am suggesting, I think we all know that in another place they are unlikely to take the vote before ten o'clock.

LORD BESWICK

My Lords, before we go on to anything else, may I say to the noble Earl that, while I am grateful to him for undertaking to consider the proposal to meet at 2 o'clock on Thursday, it is necessary to reach a fairly speedy agreement. I wonder whether he can undertake to consider it within the next hour or so.

EARL ST. ALDWYN

My Lords, I hope we shall be able to come to a speedy conclusion about this, and in that event I will inform the House before we rise to-day.

LORD ALPORT

My Lords, may I ask the noble Earl a question? I understood from the Order Paper that we were originally going to sit for three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and now we are sitting for the three days Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday is going to be a day when the debate will end at seven o'clock, which means that perhaps only 10 or 15 speakers—probably fewer, since most of them will be Front-Bench speakers—will be able to speak that day. This means that a large number of noble Lords will have to speak on Wednesday or Tuesday. There are now 65 on the list, and probably by the time the debate starts there will be 80 speakers. Would it not have been better to retain the Monday Sitting, so that we had four days and it would have been possible to keep the debate to a fairly reasonable hour on all four days?

EARL ST. ALDWYN

My Lords, obviously that would have been possible. I must admit that the impression I have gained from conversations with a number of noble Lords who are to speak next week and who have already spoken once, twice, and in some cases more than twice, on this subject, seems to indicate that they intend to be rather brief, in which case we shall no doubt get through the number of speakers indicated in reasonable time; and that I hope we may be able to do.

May I also inform your Lordships that at a convenient moment after half-past three this afternoon my noble friend Lord Carrington will be repeating in the form of a Statement an Answer given in another place by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister on the General Service Medal for troops serving in Northern Ireland.