Points of Order Debate

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Wednesday 18th March 2026

(1 day, 8 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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As a long-standing Member who came in with me in 1997, the right hon. Gentleman knows that that is not a point of order.

Paul Holmes Portrait Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
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Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Notwithstanding the rulings that you have made from the Chair, which I think are always perfect and completely right, we are now entering a new period in which a Prime Minister answers a question about a subject that was not asked and then focuses on asking a question of the Opposition Front Bench. Notwithstanding the ruling that you have just made in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), can you tell me what parliamentary mechanisms there are and who I can approach to see whether the Standing Orders need to be reformed to give you the power to determine what is an answer to a question and what is a completely pathetic response?

Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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There is a real weakness in that, because there is an assumption that the person knows the answer. I will leave it at that.