Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

The Government never cease to disappoint in the way they approach parliamentary business. They never cease to let down those who hoped they would increase the accountability of the Executive to this House, as they said they would. They never cease to disappoint those who hope that eventually we will have proper debate of serious issues. They never cease to provide evidence, as the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash) says, of the incapacity of the present system to allow this House to do its work properly and of the need for fundamental reform of the procedures of this House, of which the Wright Committee is but the very first step—yet we are denied the opportunity to debate it. First, as the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) and the hon. Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) have said, this is a constitutional Bill and there used to be a certain way we approached constitutional Bills. They were debated in a Committee of the whole House so that every Member of the House had the opportunity to have their say. The debate would be open-ended, again so that every Member who felt there was a proper point they wanted to raise on behalf of their constituents had the opportunity to do so. Today, the Minister is coming forward yet again with a programme motion and with internal knives to prevent and close down debate. That is simply not the way to do it.