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Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty)

Yes, I entirely go along with that, but I want to come back—I do want to be called out of order; that would be terrible, Madam Deputy Speaker—to the motion before us, which to me is utterly and absolutely unacceptable. The amendment, as put down by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues, is barely better. It is better, because it provides for six more days, but that allocation still is within the constraints of time. It divides the six hours into three and three, rather than four and a half and one and a half, and in most subjects that is probably better. However, it is still a very imperfect instrument, and I would much rather, as my hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Mr. Shepherd) would, that we debated this in the old way and had amendments that could be properly tabled and fully discussed.