BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE (Hansard, 24 July 1974)

HC Deb 24 July 1974 vol 877 cc1735-6 1735

§ Ordered, That the consideration of any Amendments which may be received from the Lords to the Housing Bill and the Motion relating to the European Parliament may be proceeded with at this day's Sitting, though opposed, until any hour.—[Mr. Walter Harrison.]

§ Mr. Thorpe
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, I raise this matter without in any way questioning the Division which has taken place. It is a matter of general importance on which I seek your guidance. This afternoon I raised with you the different amendments which different Opposition parties had tabled and you were kind enough to write to me setting out the position as you saw it.
The position as I see it, and on which I ask your guidance, is that you selected the Government amendment to the official Opposition motion, presumably on the ground that the official Opposition, although it is not for me to know why, would seek to sustain their motion in the Division Lobby. Not for the first time in this Parliament, that has not proved to be the case.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The right hon. Gentleman does not seem to be dealing with a question of order.

§ Mr. Thorpe
The point of order I wish to raise with you, Mr. Speaker, is that after the selection which you made within your discretion—a choice which was not challenged but merely respectfully probed from this bench—the situation changed. The Opposition did not intend to defend the position they sought on the Order 1736 Paper to do. Therefore, those Opposition parties which did have a distinctive point of view, which they were prepared to press to a Division were not able so to do. I ask you whether this does not represent a profoundly unsatisfactory situation. The sooner the Select Committee on Procedure—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The right hon. Gentleman is making the situation even more confused. He refers to Government and Opposition amendments. Whether parties change their position or not has nothing to do with the Chair.

§ The Prime Minister
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Surely the right hon. Member for Devon, North (Mr. Thorpe), is on a serious point, and it is difficult to pursue this matter in the absence of the Leader of the Opposition, who, after all, trumpeted a Three-line Whip tonight. Could we have your ruling on an inquiry of the Tellers as to whether the Leader of the Opposition was nodded through?

§ Mr. Speaker
No. Nor can we have any more party points made under the guise of points of order.

§ Mr. Thorpe
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I respectfully press upon you that there is an important point of principle here—namely, that there is urgent need for the Select Committee on Procedure to be set up to consider the situation which arose today in that the eunuch's progress of the official Opposition precludes—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. What the right hon. Gentleman is saying is not seemly for a point of order now. It is an appropriate point for business questions tomorrow.

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