Points of Order

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As you know, on Friday a consultation paper was introduced that is intended to lead to legislation creating a statutory register of lobbyists. That was trailed in the press like confetti, across the media. It was accompanied on Friday by a brief written statement and nothing else. This is such an important issue that the Prime Minister himself has said that it is the next big scandal in British politics. Should not Friday’s statement be accompanied by an oral statement, and has the Deputy Prime Minister contacted you to indicate that he wishes to come here to make a statement?

[Mr Speaker]

I have not been contacted in the way that the hon. Gentleman expected or would have advised. What I would say to him is twofold. First, the form of Government statements is overwhelmingly a matter for Government to determine. The hon. Gentleman rightly references the fact that although the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) tabled a written ministerial statement on this subject on Friday, there has been no subsequent oral statement. What I would say to the hon. Gentleman, secondly, is that my understanding of the matter is that the Government have launched a consultation process. It is an extremely important consultation process, on what, as he rightly says, is an extremely important matter, but that is the stage that we have reached. If, following the consultation process, the Government have specific policy changes to recommend, I feel certain that they will do so via an oral statement to the House; and, knowing the hon. Gentleman as I do—we entered the House together in 1997—I know that he will be eagerly expecting such an oral statement and will probably be the first in the queue to complain if it is not forthcoming.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Following the weekend reports that the Houses of Parliament may be slipping into the River Thames, will you give a statement to the House, just so that we know whether or not to buy ourselves lifejackets?

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, in particular for his concern for all those who work, or even live, within the precincts of the Palace of Westminster. I have known him for over 20 years, and I have never regarded him as an inveterate worrier. As he can see, I am not worried. He should not believe everything that he reads in the newspapers, or in those even more downmarket rags that in so describing themselves are almost certainly breaching the Trade Descriptions Act. Getting overexcited is their stock-in-trade; keeping calm and doing the right thing is ours.