PROLONGATION OF PARLIAMENT BILL. (Hansard, 20 October 1942)

§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT SIMON)

My Lords, I beg to move the Second Reading of this Bill. Unless this measure, which has already passed the House of Commons, receives your Lordships' assent, there will inevitably be an end of this present Parliament next month at the latest, followed, of course, by a General Election. Whatever may be the argument to be made on the other side, I do not expect that any of your Lordships will doubt that in these circumstances some further prolongation of this Parliament is necessary. Consideration is being given, I believe, by a Committee to the question whether and what reform might be made with a view to simplifying the Register, but as things are the Register is hopelessly out of date, and apart altogether from that, it surely would be a most serious departure from the main and immediate duty of all of us if we were thrown into the turmoil of a General Election, when we have no assurance whatever that, while the General Election was going on, even more critical events might not happen. I therefore submit to this House without any doubt or hesitation that on this ground the measure should be accepted by your Lordships' House.

The second clause of the Bill is of a more special description. It deals with the Lower House in Northern Ireland. By the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, the Constitution of the Parliament of Northern Ireland is laid down and the House of Commons in Northern Ireland has a maximum life of five years. Those five years would expire in March of next year. It is not competent for the Parliament of Northern Ireland itself to extend that term. They do not of course possess those sovereign powers which we possess, which enable the British Parliament to extend its own life, and we have thought that the proper method to deal with the matter is to provide that there may be an extension for a year of the life of the House of Commons in Northern Ireland but that the decision whether that shall be, or shall not be, shall be left to them by Resolution. No question arises about the Higher House in Northern Ireland because the Senate in Northern Ireland is not directly elected but is chosen by the House of Commons in two halves every four years, the ordinary life of the Senate being eight years. No immediate question arises about that.

These, then, are the two provisions of this Bill—first, the extension of the life of 662 the present Parliament for a maximum of another twelve months, without of course in any way diminishing the Prerogative right to dissolve Parliament sooner should circumstances make it right to do so; and, secondly, this provision for the House of Commons of Northern Ireland will correspond with the provision we are making for ourselves, except that we leave it to them by Resolution to determine whether they will, or will not, take advantage of the power of prolonging their life which this Bill will give them.