§ Mr. ChurchillMay I ask the Prime Minister a Question of which I have given him private notice, namely, whether his attention has been drawn to the Motion referring to the European Consultative Assembly which is on the Paper? It is supported by a large number of Members, almost 100, belonging to all parties in the House. Will he now make a statement on this matter?
[That this House welcomes the important steps taken by His Majesty's Government, in conjunction with the other signatories to the Brussels Pact, to establish a Council of Europe, consisting of a Council of Ministers and a Consultative Assembly; and is of the opinion (1) that the representation of this country in the Consultative Assembly should be on the basis of at least one representative for every 2,000,000 of the population, which would mean 25 representatives; (2) that each representative should be free to speak and vote as he or she thinks fit at any meeting of the Consultative Assembly; and (3) that the British representatives for the first Consultative Assembly should reflect the relative strength of the political forces in the House of Commons, and should be appointed from Members of both Houses by a resolution of this House.]
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. I am aware of the Motion to which the right hon. Gentleman refers, but I am not able to make any statement on the question 1397 of the United Kingdom representation in the Consultative Assembly until all the Governments concerned have finally settled the constitution of the Council of Europe.
§ Mr. ChurchillCan the right hon. Gentleman give any indication or idea of how long this will take?
§ The Prime MinisterI should hope it will not be long delayed now.
§ Mr. ChurchillBut what does "long delayed now" mean? A month or two months, or what will it be?
§ The Prime MinisterI could not say more exactly. Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will put a question to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
§ Mr. ChurchillI hope the right hon. Gentleman realises that I am anxious to rescue him from the very uncomfortable and invidious position in which he lies in the meanwhile when he appears to be denying that each representative of Great Britain shall be free to speak and vote as he or she thinks fit at any meeting of the Consultative Assembly; and, secondly, that the British representatives at the first Consultative Assembly should reflect the relative strength of the political forces in the House of Commons and should be appointed from Members of both Houses by a Resolution of this House. The point I am going to put is whether the right hon. Gentleman can afford indefinitely to go on denying, or appearing to deny, recognition to these obvious democratic truths and principles?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman is founding his question on assumptions that he chooses to make. I have neither affirmed nor denied any of these propositions; I have merely informed him that it is usual to wait until a constitution has been formed and agreed upon before taking action. That is all there is to it. The right hon. Gentleman jumps off before the pistol.
§ Mr. GallacherOn a point of Order, Mr. Deputy-Speaker. For my own guidance in the future would you be good enough to advise me how it comes about that a Motion on the Order Paper can become the subject of a Private Notice Question?
Mr. Deputy-SpeakerIn reply to the hon. Member this is a Private Notice Question which was submitted to the Speaker's Office in the ordinary way and to which I gave my agreement.
§ Mr. GallacherBut 1 have always understood that the Ruling was that a Private Notice Question could only be allowed provided it was raised immediately following a particular event, and must have a sense of urgency attached to it. I only want guidance for my own benefit because 1 may be inclined to use it myself.