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Northern Ireland Bill

The hon. Gentleman is right, and I am grateful for the opportunity that he has given me to spell out the position even more clearly than I have already. If restoration is achieved very quickly after 15 May, as I hope it will be, the order abolishing the 11-plus will not have gone through Parliament. A restored Assembly will then have the opportunity to decide what it wants to do about education policy. I know that the hon. Gentleman disagrees with me, but I happen to think that the policy is right, and is in the interests not just of those who do well at the top of the education ladder but of those who do terribly at the bottom. In any event, I think that that is an appropriate decision for a restored Assembly to make. However, because I believe that abolition is in the public interest in Northern Ireland, I will not delay in the hope that the Assembly may be restored at some point; next year, the following year or whenever people get around to it. My message is absolutely clear. Some may think it blunt, but it is clear. If people want to make decisions for themselves, let them get on with making those decisions for themselves.