Daylight Saving Bill

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Friday 20th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ellwood]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance. Can you make a judgment on Standing Order No. 37—the Golding closure— please?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

The hon. Gentleman would have to claim to move the closure under Standing Order No. 29. I think that might be his intention.

[Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)]

I beg to move, That the Question be now proposed.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Under Standing Order No. 29, I am required to put the Question on the motion that the Question be now proposed forthwith—this Standing Order was last used in 1987—unless it shall appear to the Chair that such a motion is an abuse of the rules of the House.

Question put forthwith, That the Question now be proposed.

The House proceeded to a Division.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate a delay in the No Lobby.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Chope]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was about to bring my remarks to a quick conclusion because I had already discussed all the amendments, but I can tell all those who supported the motion that I do not hold any animus against them.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Mr. Chope, you are such a magnanimous Member.

[Sir Peter Bottomley]

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. May I briefly say that the issue underlying the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope) is whether we will align our waking hours and working hours to the available daylight? It is quite clear that we should do that and I hope that the amendment is rejected and that we move on to the other two groups of amendments.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

I am sure that there will be no more non-points of order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr MacNeil]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for the Minister to speak so quickly that it is hard for him to be understood?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

That is not a point of order. It is up to the Minister how quickly he speaks. We do not place a limit on how fast or how slowly Ministers speak, and thank goodness for that.

[Mr Davey]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I should like to speak to the lead amendment in this group, amendment 59, which seeks to turn the Bill into a summer time extension Bill by changing the dates on which summer time ends. I think that the hon. Member for Christchurch realises that that would not be compatible with the EU directive on summer time arrangements, which has been in force for many years. The House might wish to reflect—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Chope]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Can you advise me whether it is in accordance with the traditions and courtesies of the House for the Minister to refuse to give way to the proposer of the amendment under discussion?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Mr Chope, as a long-serving Member of the House, you know, as I do, that it is up to the Minister whether he gives way or not.

[Mr Davey]

I am showing the hon. Gentleman the courtesy that he showed to the other Members of the House who wished to speak on this matter.

The House might wish to reflect on the fact that, when the directive was passed, other member states changed their dates to coincide with those of the United Kingdom. I therefore do not think that we should change the nature of the Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point and amended in Committee. We should now proceed to debate the next group of amendments.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jacob Rees-Mogg]

On that occasion I meant the majority party in the Scottish Parliament, but I see the hon. Gentleman’s point, so perhaps we should have two representatives from Scotland, which means we must also have two from Somerset, because Somerset would feel let down if the numbers were not maintained with the rest of the Union. [Interruption.] I did not quite catch the comment the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mark Tami) made from a sedentary position but will happily give way if he wishes to intervene.

I want to move on to my amendment 3, which proposes a cost-cutting measure, and I know that some hon. Members think that taxpayers’ money should be spent willy-nilly and that part of our job here is to take money out of people’s pockets and waste it, but I thought that we would get rid of the whole of clause 2, which sets out the independent oversight group. The relevant Secretary of State and President of the Board of Trade, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), is known to be one of the wisest men in Parliament. Lenin’s brain after his untimely death was kept for scientific research to see how such a great brain could operate and why it was different from other brains, and I am sure that this will happen in the sad event of the death of the President of the Board of Trade—may that day long be put off.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I do not think that Lenin’s brain quite links with daylight hours in the UK.

[Jacob Rees-Mogg]

The reason I brought it up to be linked is that if we get rid of clause 2 the President of the Board of Trade, which can meet with a quorum of one, would then be able to consider the issue by himself. Such a great brain—a brain that competes with Lenin’s and will be a matter of interest to scientific research—could consider this without the huge extra cost that might be incurred by paying the expenses of the members of the proposed oversight group, making facilities available to it and giving it written terms of reference.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Ellwood]

claimed to move the closure (Standing Order No. 36).

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I am willing to accept the closure—the references to Lenin’s brain finally persuaded me.

Question put forthwith, That the Question be now put.

The House proceeded to a Division.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate the delay in the No Lobby.

--- Later in debate ---

The House proceeded to a Division.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate the delay in the Aye Lobby.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 30, page 2, line 31, leave out from ‘must’ to end and insert

‘obtain agreement from the Scottish First Minister and First Minister of Wales.’.

Amendment 32, page 2, line 32, leave out ‘not’.

Amendment 14, page 2, line 34, leave out paragraph (a).

Amendment 35, in clause 5, page 3, line 4, leave out ‘three years’ and insert ‘one year’.

Amendment 85, page 3, line 4, leave out ‘three’ and insert ‘two’.

Amendment 16, in clause 5, page 3, line 7, leave out ‘March’ and insert ‘February’.

Amendment 17, page 3, line 9, leave out ‘October’ and insert ‘November’.

Amendment 38, in clause 6, page 3, line 20, at end insert—

‘(4) The Secretary of State must ask for reports from the Scottish First Minister, the First Minister of Wales and the First Minister of Northern Ireland on the trial period.’.

Amendment 92, page 3, line 21, leave out Clause 7.

Amendment 40, page 3, line 28, leave out Clause 8.

Amendment 70, in clause 8, page 3, line 30, leave out ‘a later’ and insert ‘an earlier’.

Amendment 42, page 3, line 36, leave out from ‘must’ to end of line 37 and insert

‘obtain agreement from the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly.’.

Amendment 43, page 3, line 36, leave out from ‘must’ to end of line 37 and insert

‘obtain agreement from the Scottish First Minister, the First Minister of Wales and the First Minister of Northern Ireland.’.

Amendment 78, in clause 12, page 5, line 15, leave out from ‘(N.I.))’ to end of line 19.

Amendment 94, in clause 14, page 6, line 3, leave out

‘on the day on which’

and insert ‘two months after’.

Amendment 11, page 6, line 4, at end add—

‘(4) If the trial period has not commenced before the dissolution of the Parliament in which this Act was passed, the Act shall thereupon be repealed.’.