Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Lord Pearson of Rannoch Excerpts

Wednesday 19th January 2011 Lords Chamber

That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords, I understand that this may be an appropriate time to ask a question, in less than two minutes, about whether these proceedings should continue. I do so on behalf of the 1 million people who voted for the UK Independence Party at the last general election. I should add that that was an increase of 50 per cent in our vote and was the best performance of any fourth party in British political history—it was achieved in spite of the party’s leader at the time.

Be that as it may, my question is simply this: why are your Lordships spending so much time arguing about the method of election of Members to the House of Commons when a majority of our national law is now imposed by Brussels? I remind your Lordships that the House of Commons has no influence in making that law. So have we not got things the wrong way round? Would it not be sensible to abandon these proceedings until we have repatriated our sovereignty to Parliament and only then decide by what method the people should send their representatives to the other place to hold the Executive to account and to take their decisions for them? Will the Deputy Leader of the House explain why we are wasting so much time, so much sleep and so much energy in the mean time?

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally)]

It is a kindly thought, but I beg to move that the House do now again resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill.

Motion agreed.

Clause 11 : Number and distribution of seats

Amendment 65B