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Members' Salaries, Pensions and Allowances

No, that is not right, for this reason. I understand the hon. Gentleman's point: if we get rid of the 1996 mechanism today, there will be nothing in place until we see the report. However, it will be in the gift of the House at that stage to delete all Sir John's recommendations and substitute the 1996 mechanism—or, indeed, anything else. It would be beyond belief that the House would be left with no mechanism at all for paying Members of Parliament. That decision is in the gift of all hon. Members, in all parts of the House, and I assure Opposition Members that I will want to go for my summer break from this place in the knowledge that there is a pay structure around which my future is secure. The hon. Gentleman's fears on that point are therefore unfounded. In conclusion, I am grateful to the Leader of the House for the work that she has done. The package before us has already generated support throughout the House. It is important that we move forward from that. The timetable will inevitably cause concern if there is even a remote suggestion of slippage, so we cannot allow for any. That timetable must allow for proper consultation with hon. Members before we take a vote. That vote must establish, once and for all, a mechanism independent not only of Members of the House, but of the Government and the Treasury. If we can do that, at last we will have done something worthy of the House and of the British people.