§ 74. Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he has any plans to arrange for additional suitable statues (a) of parliamentarians and (b) of animals near the precints of Westminster; and if will make a statement.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweMy remit as Leader of the House does not extend beyond the parliamentary precincts. I therefore have no plans for statues of either parliamentarians or animals as my hon. Friend suggests. There will, however, be some interesting opportunities to place works of art in various forms in the new parliamentary building when it is occupied next year.
§ Mr. GreenwayWhy are not statues of parliamentarians, excluding animals, erected until after they are dead? Will my right hon. and learned Friend encourage any suitable Committee to reconsider that decision? Although we do not want any mad cows in Parliament, will my right hon. and learned Friend promise to join me in leading a campaign to establish in or near Parliament a statue, with a fine steed, of the leader of any Government who succeed in preserving minimum standards for the export of horses and ponies after 1992?
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweAs always, I am compelled to admire my hon. Friend's ingenuity. However, as the rule 20 that would prevent a statue of him from being erected until 10 years after his death has been in force since 1925, it has a respectable ancestry.