Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Further to that point of order, Mr Evans. In discussing the programme motion on 12 October, the Parliamentary Secretary said that"““we have taken steps…in the programme motion””" to ensure that"““the House will be able to debate and vote on the key issues raised by the Bill.””—[Official Report, 12 October 2010; Vol. 516, c. 183.]" On Second Reading he also made it quite clear that we would have the opportunity to debate and vote on the key issues. Nobody is suggesting that the threshold is anything other than a key issue in the Bill. Even at this late stage, it is open to the Minister to tell the Committee that he will come forward tomorrow with an amendment to the programme order to ensure that we can start the business tomorrow with a debate on clause 6, rather than closing down debate on that clause, which seems to be the Government's intent. I should also point out that unless we have a debate, it will not be possible for the Committee to take a view on the relative merits of amendment 3 as compared with my amendments 64, 65 and 66. In the European debate the other night the Chair was able to decide which amendments were more worthy of being put to the vote on the basis of the debate. Without a debate, we will not be able to do that.