Points of Order Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office
Thursday 14th March 2019

(5 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wera Hobhouse Portrait Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State for International Trade inadvertently misrepresented my views and those of the Liberal Democrats during his winding-up speech in yesterday’s debate on our withdrawal from the European Union when he said:

“When she says that the will of the people does not matter, it might not matter to the Liberal Democrats, but it matters to the Conservative party.”—[Official Report, 13 March 2019; Vol. 656, c. 449.]

That is a gross misrepresentation of what I said. I said:

“The will of the people is a fig leaf for Members in this House to pursue their own Brexit agenda… The Brexit camp cannot agree what the will of the people is.”—[Official Report, 13 March 2019; Vol. 656, c. 428.]

I continue to say that more than 50% of people in this country now want to stay in the European Union—

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The hon. Lady must resume her seat. Forgive me; I am trying, as I always do, to accommodate the House. Can I politely appeal to her to have some regard for the sensibilities of the House and the desire of colleagues to progress business? I am sorry if she is disquieted by something that someone said about her that misrepresented her views, and I accept that that is irksome to her, but it does not threaten the future of her Bath constituency. We know her views; she expresses them with force and will have other opportunities to do so. Can we please leave it there, take a wider view of the mission of the House today and not have a lengthy exchange on points of order? I have tried to be extremely accommodating to her, but we must let it rest there.

Wera Hobhouse Portrait Wera Hobhouse
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rose—

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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No, no; I am not debating it with the hon. Lady. I have given a ruling.