§ Mr. SpearingI beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely;
the decision of Her Majesty's Government to accept a series of agreements with the European Economic Community whose terms are contrary to the wishes of the House, expressed in its resolutions of 16 July and 22 November 1979".I do not think that there is any doubt that these matters are specific and important or, in view of their implications and the important details relating to food prices and fisheries, that they demand urgent consideration. The exchanges that I had a few moments ago with the Leader of the House show that at the moment Her Majesty's Government do not contemplate a debate.On 16 July 1979, the House resolved:
That this House urges Her Majesty's Government, in view of the United Kingdom's massive and ever increasing net contribution to the Community Budget, to press for a fundamental reform of the budgetary arrangements so that Britain's contribution to the Budget is at least not greater than the receipts."—[Official Report, 16 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 1096.]On 22 November, a similar motion resolved:That this House … fully supports the Prime Minister in her determination to secure the objectives approved by the House on 16 July."—[Official Report, 22 November 1979; Vol. 974, c. 726.]The objectives have clearly not been achieved, although the merits of the arrangements that have been arrived at are debatable.It is of course the right of any Government to come to a conclusion of this sort and to make that plain, but to do so in a manner contrary to the wishes clearly expressed by the House, not once but twice, and on the second occasion on a motion moved by the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself, means that the House has a right to expect the Government to account for their decision and for the matter to 1073 be scrutinised and its merits debated. I therefore submit that this matter comes within the terms of the Standing Order.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Newham, South (Mr. Spearing) seeks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter, namely,
the decision of Her Majesty's Government to accept a series of agreements with the European Economic Community whose terms are contrary to the wishes of the House, expressed in its resolutions of 16 July and 22 November 1979".I listened to the exchanges earlier this afternoon and I listened with concern to the hon. Member. As the House knows, it has given me instructions to give no reason when I reach a decision on an application under Standing Order No. 9. After careful consideration of the representations of the hon. Member, I have to rule that they do not fall within the provisions of the Standing Order, and that therefore I cannot submit his application to the House.