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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

It is a sobering moment because the words that the hon. Member for South Down (Mr. McGrady) just uttered should be in all our minds throughout the debate. He told the House that people in his constituency and others would be afraid for their lives, their families, their property and their businesses if it were known that they made a donation to his party, or the party that the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) represents or the party that the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon) represents. We must be careful to acknowledge that what the hon. Gentleman said is a fact. He is an honourable man and I believe implicitly all that he said. Having heard the evidence to our Select Committee in the past few weeks, we must recognise that, sadly, we are not yet dealing with a normal part of the United Kingdom. That should inform all our discussions and decisions. I shall therefore go along with the hon. Gentleman’s plea for anonymity for an indefinite period because it is made with great personal knowledge and we should respect that. I am sure that all members of legitimate parties from the Province recognise that. The Bill was described as a dog’s breakfast by the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan), who leads the SDLP. It is not made up entirely, as I said to the right hon. Member for North Antrim, of Pedigree Chum, but several other ingredients. We should concentrate on two specific aspects of it. First, we should consider the pro-consular powers that it grants the Secretary of State. I do not impugn his integrity or good intentions, but not only the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I am nervous about giving pro-consular powers to a Secretary of State over such an important issue as determining the dates of elections. My misgivings were reinforced by the answer that the Secretary of State gave to my intervention, to which the hon. Member for Foyle referred. I asked the right hon. Gentleman whether, if the legitimate Northern Ireland parties that are represented here today—the DUP, the SDLP and the UUP, perhaps together with the Alliance party, which is also fully democratic—had misgivings about the timing of an election, he would heed them. The answer was not reassuring. He said that he would be reluctant to proceed, but he did not say that he would take notice of such misgivings. We have to be conscious that the Bill gives power to the Secretary of State to determine the crucial issue of the date of elections. The hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik)—I am glad that he has retained his portfolio—also referred to the order-making powers for which the measure paves the way. I know that the Minister will agree that that is an unsatisfactory way of legislating and it applies only to the Province because we do not deal with matters in Scotland, Wales or England through order-making powers exclusively in the House. However, it is increasingly the pattern for Northern Ireland and will remain so until we have devolution.