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Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

I wonder whether I can carry the hon. Lady a little further into even greater acts of agreement. Bearing in mind the stricture she has set herself of not opposing anything that is in the coalition agreement, she should feel free to support us in respect of later amendments on the two-thirds majority, unless she has found some other reason not to do so. We have tabled one amendment to clause 2: amendment 21. The clause provides for the calling of an early general election, but it does not specify what ““early”” means in that context. It does not state whether the motion that could be moved in the House would say, for instance, ““This House calls for a general election in the autumn of next year,”” and if so whether that means the general election would be held next autumn or prior to that, as current legislation still allows for the precise date of a general election to be set by royal proclamation, which would obviously be on the basis of advice from the Privy Council, and therefore would in practice come from the Prime Minister. Therefore, the Bill as currently drafted lacks clarity in this respect. That is why we have suggested that the clause should refer to an ““immediate”” rather than an ““early”” general election. That fits with amendments we have tabled to other provisions saying the power to determine the precise date of the general election should not be left to the Prime Minister, and that instead the date should be set.