HC Deb 30 March 1950 vol 473 cc569-71
Mr. Morrison

I have a statement to make about Private Members' time. In asking the House to agree to the Motion to take the whole time of the House until Easter, the Government undertook to discuss through the usual channels the arrangements to be made for Private Members' time after the Easter Recess. Those discussions have now taken place and I am in a position to inform the House of the result.

Owing to the late date of the opening of the Session it is felt that there will not be time for the consideration of Private Members' Bills. Accordingly, the Government will propose that no Private Members' Bills be presented during the present Session. Five Fridays will, however, be allocated for the consideration of Private Members' Motions, and their precedence on these days will be decided by ballot taken in the House in the usual way. It will be convenient for the House to know that we suggest that Fridays 5th, 12th and 19th May and 16th and 23rd June be set apart for this purpose. The Government also undertake to allocate three ordinary days before the end of July for Debates on socialised industries.

I hope that these arrangements will commend themselves to the House in the unusual circumstances of the present Session. The Motion to give effect to the proposals about Private Members' Motions will be moved at the beginning of Business on Monday, 3rd April, as I have already announced.

Mr. Eden

I think we must agree with the Lord President that the circumstances of the present Session are certainly unusual. Many of my hon. Friends would have liked more Private Members' time, but in the circumstances, so far as the legislative programme is concerned, I think we agree that at this late stage of the Session the difficulties are admittedly formidable. In the circumstances, therefore, we would not propose to oppose the Motion, although we wish to put it on record that we would not regard this as a precedent for any future session.

Lieut.-Commander Gurney Braithwaite

Can the Leader of the House tell us when the ballot will be taken for the Private Members' Motions.

Mr. Morrison

I think it is a fortnight before the days upon which the Debates on the Motions take place.

Mr. Sydney Silverman

The Lord President will remember that in the days when we last had Private Members' Motions the practice was to have two Motions on each day. May I ask whether that is the intention now or whether it is proposed to have one Motion on each Friday?

Mr. Morrison

My hon. Friend will appreciate that these are, of course, Fridays, while those other days, to which he referred, were full days and rather longer days than now. However, it is intended that arrangements will be made so that there will be tabled more than one Motion for a day, and if it so happens that the first Motion is dealt with expeditiously, there is no reason why the second Motion should not come on and we can see what happens to it when its time is Up.

Mr. C. S. Taylor

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider the reintroduction of the system allowing hon. Members to introduce Bills under the Ten-Minute Rule?

Mr. Morrison

We have thought about that, but honestly I do not think it would be of great value because they could not very well march on from that point. It is liable to take up—it can take up—half an hour of the time of the House which, thereby, would be cut out of the Debates. I am sure that that would irritate hon. Members after a little while.

Sir H. Williams

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider not debarring hon. Members from opportunities of presenting Bills, because it often happened that a Bill passed through every stage in the House without occupying any time whatsoever?

Mr. Morrison

If I may say so, that is the legislative sausage machine at its worst. I am surprised at the hon. Member advocating legislation with nobody saying a word about it. It is a shocking idea.

Sir W. Smithers

What about the guillotine?

Sir H. Williams

It has been done and has had the complete approval of the right hon. Gentleman and many of his colleagues.

Mr. Morrison

I am ashamed of myself, if that is true. I do not recall it.

Lieut.-Colonel Sir Thomas Moore

Could the right hon. Gentleman say what will happen to Private Members' Bills which are started in another place? Will that be possible and, if so, will he give time in this House for such stages as need to be taken?

Mr. Morrison

I have no control over another place, as the House well knows. I have my hands full with this one. Obviously it is possible for such legislation to march to a point in another place, but if it is the case that the House of Commons is debarring itself from promoting Private Members' legislation, I think it would be wrong for me to give an undertaking on the part of the Government that we can pick up Private Members' legislation from another place.

Professor Savory

Will the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to inform us when he proposes to put on the Order Paper his Motion to appoint a Select Committee to inquire into the case of the hon. Member for Belfast, West (Rev. J. G. MacManaway)?

Mr. Morrison

We expect to put it on the Order Paper by Monday.