HC Deb 19 January 1978 vol 942 cc674-5
Mr. Eldon Griffiths

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I apologise, because I know that the House is anxious to get on. It is your duty, Mr. Speaker, with your assistants, to administer the guillotine motion that this House passed. Regrettably, there can be no argument about that. Over the last few weeks there has been represented to the Chair and to yourself the very real unhappiness of what I conceive to be a majority of Members who have taken part in debates on the Scotland Bill that we are not being given adequate time to discuss important matters.

I appreciate that there is no way in which you, Mr. Speaker, can in any way alter the decision already taken by the House. But may I ask that you, as custodian of the affairs of this House, find some way of putting to the Leader of the House the very real disquiet of a large number of Members of the House, reflecting, I believe, a large body of opinion in the country, that we are not being provided with adequate time to discuss matters of fundamental constitutional importance to this country?

Mr. Marten

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Will you also look into the question of timetable motions? We never have time for statements from the Box. There have been many matters connected with the EEC on which we should have had statements. They have not been given, because time would have been taken out of the timetable motion debate. Could we not have a system of injury time on the timetable motion debate, so that we may have the statement followed by the timetable motion?

Mr. Speaker

Before the end of this day I shall have many disappointed hon. Members hoping to speak on the Transport Bill. We are taking time from that now.

Mr. Gow

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Not only in this House, but throughout the whole country, there is great resentment and indignation that a Bill of major constitutional importance has many of its clauses going through this House undebated. It bodes ill for the motion that the Leader of the House is proposing to introduce next Thursday, because some Opposition Members believe that the experience of the Scotland Bill is a monumental guide to the future never to agree to a guillotine on a constitutional measure.

Mr. Speaker

I shall take note of what hon. Gentlemen have said.