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Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

It is good to see you in the Chair, Mr Hoyle. I defer to you as ever. I understand the Minister's point that these provisions relate not to a motion of no confidence but to other motions for an early Dissolution. Given, too, the poor definitions of what a motion of no confidence is, we could anticipate a situation in which a Government who wish to cling on to power, even though they lack a simple majority, could dodge and weave—because they determine the business of the House—for quite a period and ensure that the motion that went before the House was tabled under clause 2(1)(c) requiring a two-thirds majority in the hope of buying themselves a little time. If this provision was not in the Bill, the choice between going to the end of the period or having an early election would be much more stark.