Points of Order (Hansard, 13 February 1990)

§ Mr. Tony Marlow (Northampton, North)
When I attempted to raise a point of order after Prime Minister's Question Time, you, Mr. Speaker, said that you would allow points of order to be taken later. My point of order—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. But I hope it is not on a matter with which we have dealt.

§ Mr. Marlow
I hastily reassure you that it is not.
Neither you, Mr. Speaker, nor I are responsible for what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister says—more is the pity, because I should be very honoured if I were. I am concerned about how the Leader of the Opposition receives advice—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. That is not a matter for me, nor should it be too much of a concern for the hon. Gentleman. Surely we deal in this place with policies rather than the personalities of hon. Members. What advice is given to the Leader of the Opposition is not a matter for me.

§ Mr. Marlow
I am concerned about the reputation of the Leader of the Opposition. I understand that inadvertently—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I am concerned about the reputation of the House. I think that we will leave it at that.

§ Mr. Doug Hoyle (Warrington)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.

§ Mr. Speaker
Is it on the same matter?

§ Mr. Hoyle
No. You, Mr. Speaker, should know better than that. I am seeking your guidance. I thought that I distinctly heard you say a little earlier that you were calling a right hon. Member because he was chairman of the 1922 committee. Does that departure mean that in future you will be calling the chair of the parliamentary Labour party, the chair of the Tribune group or the chair of the Campaign committee? Is that a new departure?

§ Mr. Speaker
The hon. Gentleman is such a chairman.

§ Mr. Hoyle
I know that.

§ Mr. Speaker
At Question Time, he gets some precedence because of the position that he occupies in the parliamentary Labour party. But perhaps even Speakers should not allow things to be said from a sedentary position.

§ Mr. Michael Jopling (Westmorland and Lonsdale)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You gave the impression a few minutes ago—certainly to me, and I think to others—that Hansard does not report comments that are made from a sedentary position. I had always understood that, occasionally, Hansard does so. You may care to reflect on what you said, in case there is confusion in the future either in the House or in the mind of the Editor of Hansard.

§ Mr. Speaker
I am delighted to clear this up. Hansard does not record remarks made from a sedentary position unless they are referred to subsequently in the House. That has been the long-standing tradition. Too many remarks 161 are made from a sedentary position. Hansard would not read well if that tradition were not followed. Remarks that are referred to subsequently in a debate are, of course, referred to in Hansard.

§ Mr. Tony Banks (Newham, North-West)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.

§ Mr. Speaker
We have an important debate ahead of us, and I believe that the hon. Gentleman would like to speak in it.

§ Mr. Banks
No, Sir, not unless you give me a guarantee that I shall catch your eye.
This is a desperately serious point of order. What you just said about sedentary comments not being recorded unless they are referred to subsequently in the House puts me in an embarrassing position. I have just received a note from the Official Report, which says: Supply sedentary intervention to which Mr. Speaker replied. I thought that you were in a sedentary position when you replied, so how can we have two—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. If I referred to it, I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman's remark from a sedentary position will appear in Hansard. I regret that I did that. Let us get on to the public expenditure debate, and I must say to the House—

§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)
On a point of order. Mr. Speaker.

§ Mr. Speaker
No, I am not taking any more points of order. I am sure that it would be helpful, but I am not taking it.