HC Deb 09 April 1957 vol 568 cc935-7
Mr. Gibson

On behalf of over 5,000 constituents and others in the Borough of Wandsworth, I desire to present a petition calling for the withdrawal of the Rent Bill. It is felt that the Bill will inflict great hardship on many families, and, in particular, on people like old-age pensioners and others living on small fixed incomes. Wherefore, your petitioners pray that the Bill be so amended that tenants shall not be evicted from their homes unless equivalent alternative accommodation is provided; that rents shall not be increased unless dwellings are in good habitable repair with reasonable amenities and that, in default of these amendments, the Bill shall be rejected. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. I desire to ask, according to the Standing Order, that the Clerk of the House may be directed to read the Petition.

Major Legge-Bourke

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Before the Clerk reads this Petition, I wonder whether, as a member of the Petitions Committee— although I do not profess to speak for the Committee as a whole—I may ask whether the use of this part of our procedure in the way which is now apparently becoming the practice—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—whether this particular practice is one which fulfils the purpose for which Parliament originally designed the Standing Order? If my question is in order, I wonder whether you, Mr. Speaker, would be prepared to accept a more carefully prepared statement than I am in a position to make today?

Mr. Speaker

I remember, when the hon. Member for Oxford University—as he then was—Sir Alan Herbert, presented a Petition and desired it to be read, my predecessor, Mr. Speaker Clifton Brown, said that it was entirely at the option of the hon. Member whether the Petition should be read or not. He added some remarks to the effect that he hoped the practice would not be indulged in too often, as, of course, it shortened the time available for Members' Questions

The CLERK OF THE HOUSE read the Petition, which was as follows:

The Humble Petition of the Undersigned citizens of Wandsworth, Clapham, Central Streatham and Putney.

Sheweth:— That in this area there are many families to whom, despite the serious overcrowding and unsatisfactory housing conditions from which they suffer, the local authorities can offer no hope of rehousing for many years to come. In these conditions the proposals of Her Majesty's Government, in the Rent Bill now before Parliament,

  1. (a) To grant powers to the owners of many of these houses to serve on the occupants notice to quit, or of rent increases without statutory limit,
  2. (b) To serve on the occupants of the remaining houses notice of substantial rent increases, without any guarantee of necessary repairs being undertaken, will inflict hardship on many families and in particular on pensioners and others with small fixed incomes.

Wherefore your Petitioners pray that the Bill be so amended that tenants shall not be evicted from their homes unless equivalent alternative accommodation is provided; that rents shall not be increased unless dwellings are in good habitable repair with reasonable amenities; and that in default of these amendments the Bill shall be rejected.

And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.

Mr. Arbuthnot

On a point of order. It was impossible for many of us at this end of the House to hear whether the Petition was addressed to this House or not. I wonder whether that was so.

Mr. Speaker

I understand that it was a Petition to this House, presented by a Member of the House.

To lie upon the Table.

Mrs. Corbet

I desire, Mr. Speaker, to present a Petition similar to that of my hon. Friend the Member for Clapham, (Mr. Gibson), on behalf of constituents and others in the Borough of Camberwell. The Petitioners are fearful of the consequences which will flow from the Rent Bill, and therefore, your Petitioners pray that the Bill be so amended that tenants shall not be evicted from their homes unless equivalent alternative accommodation is provided; that rents shall not be increased unless dwellings are in good habitable repair with reasonable amenities; and that in default of these amendments the Bill shall be rejected. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.

To lie upon the Table.

Mr. Lipton

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I beg to present a humble Petition, signed by 2,000 citizens of Brixton, protesting at the hardships which will be caused by the evictions and rent increases arising from the Rent Bill. The Petition is in the same terms as the others presented this day.

And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.

To lie upon the Table.

Sir P. Agnew

May I raise a point of order, Mr. Speaker? The Rent Bill has had its Third Reading in this House and, in the event of there being no amendment made to it in another place, it will not be possible for this House to take any action on the Petitions presented to it. Is not this an indication that the procedure is archaic, if not out of order?

Mr. Speaker

The same thought occurred to me. I have had researches made and I find that on 4th November, 1909, after the Finance Bill of that year, a matter of some controversy, received its Third Reading, a Petition was allowed by the Speaker in similar terms mutatis mutandis against the Bill. So, in the absence of any Ruling to the contrary and with that precedent of an affirmative character, I felt bound to allow these Petitions.