Criminal Defence Service Bill [Lords] (Programme) (No. 2)

That may be my hon. Friend’s view, but I see in the Chamber more than one Member from Leicestershire. Indeed, the hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) is well known for his dedication to the parliamentary process and his power of analysis. He is looking very thoughtful, and he may well have thoughts on the Bill other than those of the hon. Member for Leicester, East, eminent lawyer though he is, who was not on the Committee and who may or may not have views yet to be revealed. My hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh has shown us that, in every respect, the programme motion is a disgrace and an outrage to the parliamentary process. That is the long and short of it. Following on from what the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) said, I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon takes the message back to our Front-Bench colleagues that we should not allow these programme motions to slip through uncontested, because again and again they illustrate a number of interrelated facts. The first is that the Government now assume that they, not the House, must control all aspects of the parliamentary process. They are saying to us, effectively, ““When we introduce our legislation, we will decide how much time the House of Commons will have to consider it.”” That is what is so unacceptable.