Information for Backbenchers on Statements

Debate between Meg Munn and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 20th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hollobone]

I am most grateful for the helpful intervention from my right hon. Friend, the distinguished Chairman of the Procedure Committee. There are many benefits of 24-hour news coverage, although accuracy is not necessarily one of them—nor is undue pressure on Ministers to release information before the House is told. But that is no excuse for Ministers to fail to resist the temptation to get their message out before telling the House. I agree that it is an additional pressure, but it should not be an excuse.

The early release of information is not confined to the broadcast media age. In fact, we can go back to the infamous incident on 13 November 1947, when the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hugh Dalton, resigned a few hours after what he described as “a grave indiscretion” on his part. Some Members might not be familiar with this infamous case, so perhaps I can indulge the House for a moment by reminding them. There was the following exchange on the Floor of the Chamber: Mr Raikes raised a private notice question, which was the procedure in those days, and

“asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered the accurate forecast of the Budget proposals in a newspaper on sale at 3.45 p.m. yesterday, a copy of which has been sent to him, and if he will institute an inquiry into the source of the information.”

Very humbly, Mr Dalton, the Chancellor at the time, told the House:

“I very much regret to tell the House that the publication to which the hon. Member refers arose out of an incident which occurred as I was entering the Chamber to make my speech yesterday. In reply to questions put to me by the Lobby correspondent of the “Star” newspaper, I indicated to him the subject matter contained in the publication in question. I appreciate that this was a grave indiscretion on my part, for which I offer my deep apologies to the House.”—[Official Report, 13 November 1947; Vol. 444, c. 551.]

A few hours later, The Times reported Hugh Dalton’s resignation letter to the Prime Minister, in which Hugh Dalton wrote:

“In view of the incident which was raised to-day in the House, I think my duty to offer you my resignation”.

[Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab/Co-op)]

That is a very interesting historical episode, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for telling us about it, but on that basis, has he worked out how many current Ministers would have had to resign?

[Mr Hollobone]

That is an extremely good point, and the answer is: all of them—and most of the previous Government as well. The basic point of my speech is that standards have been going downhill since 13 November 1947. Mr Dalton was clearly in the wrong, and he paid the ultimate political price, but what has been happening since is that Ministers of the Crown, under Conservative, Labour and coalition Governments, have been getting away with it. The purpose of today’s motion, in praising the Speaker for the steps he has taken, is to give the House the opportunity to say, “Enough is enough. We are going to do things differently in the future.”