Business without Debate

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Tuesday 7th December 2010

(13 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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We come now to the 10 o’clock motions and the business of the House motion in the name of the Prime Minister.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The House must calm itself. We will come to other matters in due course—any points of order and so on. The next motion is on Deferred Divisions, in the name of the Prime Minister.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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We come to the business of the House motion in the name of the Leader of the House.

Hilary Benn Portrait Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Government are clearly in a state of chaos when it comes to tuition fees. Yesterday, the Leader of the House tried to move a motion and it was objected to, much to the anger of the Chief Whip, as you know. Today, the Leader of the House tabled one motion in his own name and two motions in the name of the Prime Minister but, as we have just seen, did not have the courage to move the motion in his own name.

I am sure that you understand the deep sense of anger that there is in the House at the amount of time that the Government are proposing to give Members on Thursday to debate the biggest change in tuition fees and support for higher education that we have ever seen. Since the House is being treated with contempt by the Government, may we now have a statement from the Leader of the House to tell us what on earth is going on? Will he indicate how much time we will have on Thursday to debate the increase in tuition fees? [Interruption.]