Business without Debate

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Thursday 31st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I understand that the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Bill has now passed all its remaining stages in the other place, which means that there is capacity for the Bill to come to the Commons. The Opposition have made it clear to Government business managers that we will cause no impediment to the orderly and rapid passage of that Bill through this House. The House recognises that this is a matter of justice for people who were the victims of abuse and are now survivors, some of whom are very elderly. They deserve both the recognition that the Bill will give and some level of financial compensation. I hope that, if the business managers were to approach you, Mr Speaker. you would ensure that the facilities of the House could be managed such that the Bill could come before the Commons in the days before Dissolution.

[Mr Speaker]

It is up to the business managers. Is there scope for that to happen? The answer is yes, and it is perfectly feasible to imagine that the hon. Gentleman will achieve successful closure. It is not in my hands, but he has made his point with force and alacrity. It is on the record, and it will have been heard by the most senior representative of the usual channels, who is bestriding the Treasury Bench—none other than the Patronage Secretary.

Northern Ireland

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Thursday 5th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker—

[Mr Speaker]

As the hon. Gentleman’s point of order appertains to the matters of which we have just treated, I will take it if it is brief.

[Tony Lloyd]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State was very candid in his admission that he was not consulted about Prorogation. Important decisions have to be made about Northern Ireland’s governance over this period. Can we have a clear statement, perhaps from the Prime Minister, that there will be time, either before Prorogation or at a convenient time for this House, to give the Secretary of State the power to do the things that Northern Ireland needs?

[Mr Speaker]

Does the Secretary of State wish to respond?

Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Ping Pong: House of Commons
Thursday 18th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I do not recall what the position was, but if a Front Bencher, like any Member, has erred, it is incumbent on that Member to make the appropriate correction.

[Tony Lloyd]

Mr Speaker, I will check the record, and where appropriate I will apologise to the hon. Member for North Antrim. However, he certainly cast aspersions about cheap politics in his remarks. Let me make some progress because we have very little time.

The remedy for all these things lies in the hands of the Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. When that Assembly decides to meet and the Executive are reformed, they can take the power to abrogate the bulk of what lies on the face of the Bill. This House has made that very clear commitment to the system of devolution and to the people of Northern Ireland.

I commend the words of the noble Lord Duncan, the Minister in the other House, who has talked about the need to make progress on the question of historical institutional abuse, saying:

“There is urgency… I will commit, in the absence of a sitting Assembly, to the Government introducing primary legislation on historical institutional abuse before the end of the year”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 15 July 2019; Vol. 798, c. 138.]

That is a very welcome commitment by the noble Lord on behalf of the Government.

I will confine my last few remarks to Lords amendment 1 and the manuscript amendment in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn). This is a massively important constitutional issue. In a parliamentary democracy, no Parliament can abrogate both the right to sit and to take action, particularly against the constitutional challenge that a no-deal Brexit would pose and especially in the light of the fact that there will be a Prime Minister who will have a mandate not from the public in general but from a very narrow base within one political party. It is simply unconscionable that this House would not sit.

I say very firmly to my friends in this House from Northern Ireland that they have to recognise that there is nowhere in this United Kingdom of ours that will be more affected by a no-deal Brexit than Northern Ireland. I hope the Minister will respond to my next point, which is that if we are moving to no deal as we get towards October, the Government will have to introduce direct rule in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly to effect the legislation to allow for that no-deal Brexit to take place. In that sense, this House must be in a position to meet to transform the law to protect the people of Northern Ireland against the possibility of that no-deal Brexit. This is not grafted on to Northern Ireland legislation; it is absolutely fundamental to the future of the people of Northern Ireland. That is why Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition will be supporting the manuscript amendment in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and any consequential amendments.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Thursday 18th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think convention says that a Bill that has got this far in both Houses is rightfully the property of Parliament rather than the Executive. Both Houses have spoken very clearly about the constitutional nature of this Bill, and you have ruled that it is completely in order. However, there are rumours—perhaps fallacious—that the Government are thinking of pulling the Bill. Can you confirm, Mr Speaker, that that would be unconscionable and unacceptable, and that you would not be supportive of any such move?

[Mr Speaker]

I think that it would be quite extraordinary, but I have no expectation of it, and I am fortified, reinforced and encouraged in my view by the clear sedentary head-shaking of no less a figure than the Patronage Secretary, aided and abetted by the Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose). They are both signalling that the Government have no intention of abandoning the Bill, and the Chief Whip, having shaken his head, is now in a position, if he so wishes, to nod his assent to the proposition that I have just made.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Wednesday 6th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before I call the hon. Member for Rochdale (Tony Lloyd) to ask his second question, let me say that a lot of noisy private conversations are taking place, including on the Government Benches, where I am sure Members wish to listen to their illustrious Secretary of State as she replies to the inquiries put to her.

[Tony Lloyd]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State knows that the security situation also depends on trust. When David Cameron was Prime Minister, he recognised the special circumstances of the Pat Finucane case and established an independent inquiry into those circumstances. The Supreme Court decided last week that that was a flawed process. What remedy does the Secretary of State propose, unless it is indeed a second public inquiry?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Wednesday 12th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I do not wish to tempt fate, but at the moment, the Government Benches are a model of decorum. By contrast, there is a very large number of noisy private conversations taking place on the Opposition Benches, which I feel sure will now cease, as the Front Bench spokesperson comes in.

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister of State to his place. Paragraph 50 of the EU-UK joint report last December made it clear that there would be a guarantee, consistent with the 1998 agreement, that the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive would be consulted on any regulatory changes. Why did that guarantee disappear in the withdrawal agreement? Why did the Secretary of State allow it to disappear?

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Wednesday 16th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his attempted point of order. If an hon. Member makes a mistake, it is for the hon. Member concerned to decide whether it is necessary to correct what he or she has said and, if so, to decide how and when to do so. Meanwhile, the hon. Gentleman, who is quite an experienced hand, has offered his verdict clearly. It is on the record and I suspect that he may choose to share it with others. It is open to him to do so, but I cannot get involved beyond that.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

It is very proper that the hon. Gentleman accused should have a chance to respond.

[Tony Lloyd]

Let me say to the House and far wider that if, inadvertently, I misled the House or anybody else on the issue, of course I unreservedly withdraw that claim. Let me make it clear that I would never claim something dishonest about the Christie hospital—not that it was going to close when it was not, and not that staff were being transferred when they were not. If I was wrong, I withdraw those remarks.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. As far as I am concerned, certainly for today, that concludes that matter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Tony Lloyd

Thursday 1st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I gently encourage the Secretary of State to face the House. I understand the natural inclination, but he must face the House and address the House.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State’s faith in market solutions is touching—like that of all those with great religious fervour. However, can he give an example of anywhere in the world where the market has actually allocated secure energy supplies?