SECONDARY EDUCATION (TAMESIDE) (Hansard, 27 July 1976)

§ Mr. Christopher Price
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the perverse and misguided decision of the Court of Appeal yesterday, has the Prime Minister—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. That matter is sub judice. I should have thought that the hon. Member would realise that.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
rose—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. There may be no further point of order on that matter.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
On another point of order, Mr. Speaker—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. If this point of order is on an entirely different subject I shall take it, but I shall not take a point of order on Tameside.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I do not wish to mention Tameside. I did wish—

§ Mr. Speaker
I hope that the hon. Member will not try to skirt round the 251 question, as that would be of no use to the House. There is a great deal of business. There is a timetable motion. We must be fair and get on to the business as quickly as possible.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Member knows that he cannot raise any point relating to Tameside this afternoon.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
I shall not mention Tameside.
In 1972 the Select Committee on Procedure introduced into the House a motion, which was passed, about sub judice rules which required you, Mr. Speaker, to take those rules into account in taking decisions about whether matters could be commented on. I have a submission to make that the Tameside case—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. First, I have not come to the House unprepared. I have spent some time considering this matter. I am not prepared to take points on that issue. The hon. Member had best try another occasion on which to raise the matter.

§ Mr. John Mendelson
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Surely there have been occasions within your memory, and within those of all Members of Parliament, when an hon. Member has been allowed at least to make a submission and state his case in general terms before the Chair made the decision whether he was allowed to make a submission. [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] May I continue? I have not finished my point of order. I am not in the habit of making points of order every Monday and every Friday. I have not finished my point of order today and I intend to finish it if the Chair allows me to do so.
On numerous occasions hon. Members been allowed to make submissions. The Chair has not said that as the matter had been studied by the Chair the submission could not be heard. I therefore respectfully ask you, Mr. Speaker, to accord the same right to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price).

§ Mr. Skinner
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Before you make a ruling on that matter, Mr. Speaker, I should like, 252 in line with what my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone (Mr. Mendelson) said, to say that there have been many similar examples during the period that I have been a Member of this House. I should like to draw your attention specifically to the fact that during a not dissimilar incident—namely local authorities versus central Government—I was to some extent involved in the Clay Cross affair. Lord Denning was also involved, although he came to a different conclusion on that occasion. But the point I want you to remember, Mr. Speaker, is this—

§ Mr. Speaker
rose—

§ Mr. Skinner
When this matter—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Member should resume his seat when I stand. I want the hon. Member to state his point of order as politely as he can.

§ Mr. Skinner
One thing is certain. I shall not grovel.
Whether or not the Clay Cross matter was sub judice, during its course it was nevertheless mentioned time and time again in this Chamber, despite the fact that the case went to the same people. It went to Lord Denning. It went through the same process as this matter. I believe that it should be a matter for our concern in this Chamber.

§ Mr. Speaker
I am much obliged to the hon. Member and to the others who have made their points of order. The House has given me discretion in this matter. I am exercising that discretion. There can be no question this afternoon of my changing my mind on it.