HC Deb 20 December 1971 vol 828 cc1107-9
32. Sir Elwyn Jones

asked the Attorney-General what changes have now been made by the Lord Chancellor with regard to restrictions made on the appointments of Justices of the Peace of those who hold political office and their spouses.

The Attorney-General

My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor has adopted in general the rules followed by his predecessors, under which Members of Parliament, parliamentary candidates and whole-time political agents, and their husbands or wives, could not be appointed within their constituencies. My noble Friend has decided to apply this restriction also to secretaries of the local constituency party organisations and to part-time or unpaid political agents, and to the husbands and wives of these persons.

Sir Elwyn Jones

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that, while his statement is a slight improvement on the original directive from the Lord Chancellor's Department, which was taken also to render ward secretaries and regional secretaries and their spouses ineligible, nevertheless the proposals which he has now adumbrated run counter to the recommendations of the Royal Commission of 1948 that there should be as few administrative bars as possible? While it may be right to exclude whole-time paid agents, what is the case for excluding unpaid agents and secretaries, and is it not extraordinary that, while a constituency chairman may apparently be made a justice of the peace, a secretary may not? Above all, what are the grounds for the exclusion of spouses of secretaries and unpaid agents?

The Attorney-General

I do not accept that the proposals run contrary to the recommendations of the Royal Commission of 1948. If, as the right hon. and learned Gentleman says, it was thought that this bar applied to ward secretaries, that was a misunderstanding. It applies only to constituency secretaries. I remind the House of the importance of magistrates not being, and not being thought to be, closely identified with any political part in the constituency. It is for this reason that Members of Parliament and their spouses or full-time agents of political parties are not appointed to the Commission within that constituency. Where a secretary of a political party is identified with that political party, surely it is right that he should not sit as a justice of the peace in that constituency.

Mr. Biggs-Davison

Is not the excitement opposite a little extraordinary? Will not all normal members of the public agree with my right hon. and learned Friend that those who are actively and publicly engaged in party politics within a given constituency should not sit on the bench within that constituency?

The Attorney-General

I wholly agree with my hon. Friend. The secretary of a party organisation, who will not usually change as the other officers may, takes his instructions from a particular political party. Surely it is in the interests of all hon. Members of this House to see that the bench is kept free from party political associations.

Mr. Orme

Is not the Attorney-General aware that even the present proposals are politically weighted against the Labour Party and in favour of the Conservative associations?—[HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"]—I will explain why. Many Conservative officers live outside the constituencies in which they operate, and therefore there is an element of political bias in these arrangements.

The Attorney-General

That is, with respect, wholly wrong. A Conservative Party agent is now not permitted to be on the Commission in the constituency for which he is the party agent. In those circumstances, it is only right that this should be so for the other parties.

Sir Elwyn Jones

Will the learned Attorney-General now answer my question? Why is it thought right to ban secretaries but not to ban chairmen? Is the suggestion that secretaries are likely to be influenced by political prejudice, whereas chairmen are not? If that is the suggestion, is it not a wholly unworthy one, and where is the evidence of that influence?

The Attorney-General

Surely it is obvious that the party organisation of which the secretary is the representative takes its instructions from the party. The chairman holds office perhaps for a short time and may change from year to year, but the secretary of a party political organisation is the representative of the party in the area. I regret to hear that the right hon. and learned Gentleman should want to associate the Bench with party political activities.