UK Parliament / Open data

Fixed Term Parliaments Bill

Debate on bills on Friday, 16 May 2008, in the House of Commons, led by David Howarth. The answering member was Bridget Prentice.
Fixed Term Parliaments Bill. Queens consent signified. Second reading debate. Adjourned. Debate to be resumed 6 June.

About these Parliamentary proceedings

Reference

475 c1703-19 

Session

2007-08

Department

Ministry of Justice

Legislative stage

Second reading

Procedure

Private members' bills proceedings
Queen's consent

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Related items

Fixed Term Parliaments Bill.
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Bills
House of Commons
The Governance of Britain - constitutional renewal. (In 3 volumes - including the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill).
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Command papers
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1718 (Link to this contribution) Does that mean that the Government would still keep the rule whereby a vote of no confidence in a Pr...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1716-7 (Link to this contribution) I have not read the details of those proceedings, but we are in the process of having that debate—th...

Show all contributions (54)
Christopher Chope | 475 c1716 (Link to this contribution) I do not know whether the Minister has had the benefit of reading the proceedings of the Joint Commi...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1718 (Link to this contribution) Our current system is better than those available elsewhere, which is why we should continue with it...
David Howarth | 475 c1715 (Link to this contribution) The simple answer to the Minister's question is that the principle of parliamentary supremacy allows...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1715 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman referred to that in his opening remarks. Yes, Parliament can pass any Bill that i...
David Howarth | 475 c1715 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for giving way again, but trying to force a Bill through the House in a day is ...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1715-6 (Link to this contribution) I would not say that that is necessarily impossible in the House of Lords; otherwise a Government mi...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1714-5 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) on his success in the private Members' ...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1713-4 (Link to this contribution) I understand what the hon. Lady says, but the same thing would happen in a fixed-term Parliament, as...
Annette Brooke | 475 c1713 (Link to this contribution) I think my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge was making the point that because of the speculation...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1713 (Link to this contribution) As ever, my hon. Friend makes an extremely important point, which I hope we can emphasise during the...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1713 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Cambridge said that Governments are given a great deal of incumbency power, but ...
Diane Abbott | 475 c1712 (Link to this contribution) I remember the 1992 manifesto with some clarity, and I was about to point out that the quotation cit...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1712 (Link to this contribution) I apologise. The hon. Lady is quite right to mention 1983. That was my mistake, and my right hon. Fr...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1712 (Link to this contribution) I endorse that point. Indeed, Conservative manifestos are changing for the future, too.
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1712 (Link to this contribution) Let me put everything in the picture about the 1992 manifesto. The subject of fixed-term Parliaments...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1712 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady is right. I could have been much crueller about the 1992 manifesto—and indeed about th...
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1718 (Link to this contribution) While I disagree with the hon. Lady about whether that is likely to become important in the next few...
Speaker | 475 c1718 (Link to this contribution) Order. The Minister is straying rather beyond the bounds of the Bill before the House.
Bridget Prentice | 475 c1718-9 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Because of the wording of the provision and the fact that Parliamen...
David Howarth | 475 c1707 (Link to this contribution) I suspected that that might be the case, and I also suspect that the Government might not like that ...
David Howarth | 475 c1705-6 (Link to this contribution) That is not exactly true, for reasons that I shall explain later—they relate to the answer that I ga...
David Howarth | 475 c1706 (Link to this contribution) It is not used often, and I fear that Governments might use it to clear out the rebellious Members w...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1707 (Link to this contribution) I just want to let the hon. Gentleman know that he has my support at least for one small detail of t...
David Howarth | 475 c1704 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady's remarks are on the record to haunt her in future decades. A point against the presen...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1704-5 (Link to this contribution) I am listening with great interest to the hon. Gentleman's arguments. He might be coming on to this,...
David Howarth | 475 c1705 (Link to this contribution) I will indeed go into that later, but the point that my Bill tries to make is that to hold a general...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1705 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that last year there was a perfectly legitimate reason for a gener...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1704 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way on the point about incumbency. Are the Liberal Democrats i...
David Howarth | 475 c1703-4 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. It is difficult to believe that last year t...
David Howarth | 475 c1710 (Link to this contribution) I follow the hon. Gentleman's point, which is important, but the difference is that, in a fixed-term...
Christopher Chope | 475 c1710 (Link to this contribution) When I was a member of the Government, I did not know the date of the general election until after e...
David Howarth | 475 c1710-1 (Link to this contribution) One could argue that fixed terms and PR go together, as often happens in other parts of Europe. If t...
Christopher Chope | 475 c1711 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman talks about a Government being popular, but what is important is having a good Go...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1711 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) on introducing this important matter. I...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1711-2 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. It might be that both those parties can see the advantage of incumbency and would like to ho...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1709 (Link to this contribution) Am I right to think that the Government would have to move a Bill of the sort that the hon. Gentlema...
Christopher Chope | 475 c1709-10 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) for introducing his Bill in such luci...
David Howarth | 475 c1709 (Link to this contribution) That is right, and that is in line with the practice in most other countries, although it could be c...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1708 (Link to this contribution) One of the advantages for an incumbent Government of an autumn election might be that if Parliament ...
David Howarth | 475 c1708 (Link to this contribution) That is a very interesting point, which had not occurred to me. My view in favour of May is strength...
Christopher Chope | 475 c1707 (Link to this contribution) Why is the hon. Gentleman keen to have the election in May? Having general elections in May on a fix...
David Howarth | 475 c1707 (Link to this contribution) That is one point of view, but if the election were held at another time, I suspect that the budgeta...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1708 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman said that Parliament could pass an Act to amend this Bill, should it become an Ac...
David Howarth | 475 c1708-9 (Link to this contribution) Fortunately, it takes a long time to get Bills through without the co-operation of the other parties...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1708 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman just addressed this point; I was just wondering whether this Bill to change the d...
David Howarth | 475 c1708 (Link to this contribution) It should be. That is in line with at least one part of our existing constitution, because there is ...
David Howarth | 475 c1707 (Link to this contribution) I consider that to be an advantage of the Bill, although the form of politics that we have reached i...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1707 (Link to this contribution) Surely if the date of the election is known, the campaign can start at any time? There have been dif...
David Howarth | 475 c1717 (Link to this contribution) First, that is not the position in Sweden. Secondly, does the Minister not think that it is a good i...
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 475 c1712-3 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady strikes a potent chord with me, and I have every sympathy with her. As the hon. Member...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge | 475 c1706 (Link to this contribution) I am fascinated to hear about that; is that option used much in Sweden, and what is the purpose of i...

Subjects

Campaigns
British constitution
Elections
General elections
Government
Dissolution
Political parties
Parliament
Manifestos
Recall of parliament
Reform
Royal prerogative
Labour
Censure motions

Legislation

Fixed-term Parliaments Bill 2007-08

Link

View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk
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