HC Deb 21 June 1973 vol 858 cc842-4
2. Mr. Duffy

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he is satisfied with the arrangements for the Northern Ireland Assembly elections on 28th June.

Mr. David Howell

Yes, Sir.

Mr. Duffy

Does not the Minister agree that it is in the interests of the widest possible basis of political expression of the electors next Thursday and of the highest degree of participation that candidates and leaders of political parties avail themselves of free television time, and that any one of them should hesitate before refusing, for fear of taking a hammering from journalists, lest his refusal should veto the appearance of other candidates or jeopardise such programmes? Is not this one occasion when the vital need for political exposure should not be sacrificed to the customary requirement of political balance?

Mr. Howell

This is a matter on which candidates and parties must decide how they want to expose their political views before the election.

Mr. McMaster

What arrangements is my hon. Friend making for security between now and the election?

Mr. Howell

Security needs are constantly under review, and there will be adequate and properly organised security on polling day. I hope that this matter can he handled fully by the police—the Royal Ulster Constabulary—but if security needs unhappily arise the resources will be there to meet them fully.

6. Captain Orr

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the Northern Ireland Assembly to have its first meeting.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. William Whitelaw)

Once the Northern Ireland Constitution Bill has been passed, the date will be determined after consultation with the leaders of the parties elected to the Assembly.

Captain Orr

In the light of the legal difficulties that might arise about a formal meeting of the Assembly, will my right hon. Friend consider the possibility of starting with an informal meeting of the Assembly before it meets formally? It might then be easy to have the kind of consultative session that could be useful to determine whether the edifice envisaged in Clause 2 of the Northern Ireland Constitution Bill could ever be brought into being.

Mr. Whitelaw

I think that I should be most cautious in replying to my hon. and gallant Friend. After all, one of the first needs of any Assembly is to have somebody to preside over its deliberations. If there were a meeting without anyone being in charge of the affair at all, we might find considerable difficulties. Therefore, the first business of the new Assembly must be to elect its presiding officer. It cannot do that until the Constitution Bill has been passed. I think that there are great advantages in having a formal first meeting. Meanwhile, there is nothing to stop informal consultations taking place before the Bill has been passed. At the moment, I am inclined to the view that the right course is to wait until the Bill has been passed and then have the formal first meeting of the Assembly to elect its presiding officer.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

Is the Secretary of State aware that the Opposition fully endorse the approach that he has outlined? When his hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Down, South (Captain Orr) talks about a consultative process, it would seem that that is just another effort to bypass the Bill that is currently going through this House.

Mr. Whitelaw

I do not know that I necessarily detected that approach in what was said by my hon. and gallant Friend. Nevertheless, it is important to face hard facts. To have an Assembly of any kind informally, without any rules of order, with no purpose before it, and with no one officially able to preside over it, might be a difficult proceeding.

Mr. Maginnis

Does my right hon. Friend agree that to have a social gathering prior to the special functions to be undertaken by the Assembly would be very useful? In this respect it would be following the precedent set by the Prime Minister, who invites the new boys to Parliament during their first week to assist him at No. 10 Downing Street.

Mr. Whitelaw

A formal meeting is one thing and a social gathering another. I have never been averse to social gatherings.