§ Mr. W. YatesOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. For the second occasion of which you are aware, you have declined to accept a Private Notice Question addressed to the Foreign Secretary. On Thursday I have the Adjournment debate. Therefore, under the new Standing Orders of the House I desire to give you notice that I shall withdraw the 888 subject for debate which I have placed on the Order Paper and, with your permission, substitute for it the conduct of the negotiations in Cyprus and the responsibility of the Foreign Secretary, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and Her Majesty's Government for nine weeks' delay in concluding those negotiations.
§ Mr. SpeakerIt is not quite like that. The trouble is that on Thursday the Chair chooses the subject and not the hon. Member. If an hon. Member were thereafter allowed to change his subject without the consent of the Chair he would be usurping to himself an Adjournment. I will treat this as an application for my consent to change the subject, but I must look at the other subjects available to me before I give my consent.
§ Mr. YatesI did not understand that under the new Standing Orders I had actually to apply in that way, Mr. Speaker. I thought that I had only to give notice formally on the Floor of the House. This is a new Standing Order which will affect every back-bench hon. Member if at any time he wishes to substitute a subject. I wish to express my regret if I have not given you, Mr. Speaker, sufficient time to consider it, but I desire to change the subject. If you cannot accept the change, then I accept the subject which you have already allotted to me.
§ Mr. Emrys HughesFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker, would not the problem of the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. W. Yates) be solved if he suggested to the Leader of the House that it would be very important to discuss Cyprus on Friday?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is not a point of order.