§ Q5. Mr. RendelTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 14 May. [28015]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. RendelGiven that about 50 councils throughout the country are now left without a single Conservative representative, and given that probably, in those areas, on average, about 20 per cent. of the electorate still supports the Conservative party and votes for it, does the Prime Minister agree that the current electoral system is very unfair to those Conservative voters, and indeed to the Conservative party, in those areas, and that therefore it would be better to replace the electoral system with a fair vote system, which would ensure proper representation on each and every council for every significant group?
§ The Prime MinisterFirst, I apologise to the hon. Gentleman for calling him an hon. Friend. I promise the House that that was not a leak suggesting that the hon. Gentleman will cross the Floor, but merely an indication that we anticipate having his seat back at the next general election.
I do not remotely agree with the hon. Gentleman's proposals for a form of proportional voting. The only implication of a proportional voting system in this country would be that the decisions that should be made by a Government, and on which a Government should be answerable, would be made behind closed doors by Members like the right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown), the leader of the Liberal party, and others, and not made by the Prime Minister and Government of the day, standing at the Dispatch Box.
§ Q6. Mr. JenkinTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 14 May. [28016]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. JenkinAs we await the return of the Family Law Bill to the Floor of the House, will my right hon. Friend consider a change of policy to allow for mediation and reconciliation between members of the shadow Cabinet, whose marriage of convenience appears to have been poisoned by the political gigolo from Hartlepool?
§ The Prime MinisterThey will have ample time for mediation and conciliation—perhaps five years after the general election—in opposition.
§ Q7. Mr. LewisTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 14 May. [28017]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. LewisDoes the Prime Minister accept that refusal to act on guns before Lord Cullen reports smacks of vacillation? If the right hon. Gentleman has any doubts about yardsticks for tackling gun control, will he read the report of the Adjournment debate that I initiated on 3 May 1995? He will find that during that debate I made four sensible suggestions for the control of guns. That debate took place 12 months before Dunblane.
§ The Prime MinisterI am sure that the hon. Gentleman would have made sensible suggestions. As for vacillation, I remind the hon. Gentleman that the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw), the shadow Home Secretary, said the other day:
We shall … carefully consider all the evidence given to the Inquiry and the recommendations which Lord Cullen makes before coming to final conclusions.It would rather seem that the Opposition Front Bench shares the Government's view that there should be a proper examination of Lord Cullen's report before conclusions are reached. I am sorry that there seems to be a split between the Opposition Front Bench and the Opposition Benches below the Gangway.
§ Q8. Mrs. GormanTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 14 May. [28018]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mrs. GormanIs my right hon. Friend aware that Marks and Spencer, that pillar of the British nation, has announced that if we were to be so foolish as to go for a single currency, it would have to spend at least £100 million on converting its tills, and that everyone in the high street would end up with bills running into billions? Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should bring these matters to the attention of the President of France, Mr. Chirac, when he meets him for discussions? I understand that the gentleman is quite keen on a 765 single currency. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that he understands that underwear prices will increase in Marks in this country as well as in Paris, Lyon and all the other Marks stores in France?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that my hon. Friend has brought matters effectively to the attention of many people. I am not certain whether they will directly reach President Chirac.