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Debate on bill on Friday, 27 March 2009, in the House of Commons, led by Evan Harris. The answering member was Jack Straw.

Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill

Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill. Queen's Consent signified. Second reading debate. Adjourned. Debate to be resumed on 16 October 2009.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
490 c556-629 
Session
2008-09
Department
Ministry of Justice
Legislative stage
Second reading
Procedure
Private members' bills proceedings
Queen's consent
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Evan Harris | 490 c557 (Link to this contribution) I am an expert neither in bringing together the Churches nor in history, but I recognise the points ...
Peter Bottomley | 490 c557 (Link to this contribution) My prediction is that we will need the next Conservative Government to carry this through, but we wi...
Show all contributions (283)
Stephen Pound | 490 c558 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman moves down the roll of honour on this issue, and before he mentions Lord Arche...
Evan Harris | 490 c557-8 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend did indeed propose that Bill in 1991, and part of it was implemented voluntarily. I d...
Simon Hughes | 490 c557 (Link to this contribution) As someone who was brought up in the Anglican tradition, I greatly welcome the Bill. In 1991, I was ...
Peter Bottomley | 490 c560 (Link to this contribution) I hope that the hon. Gentleman will be slightly more ambitious. The practice of politics should be m...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c559 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman knows that I support the Bill—and if I catch your eye, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I shal...
Evan Harris | 490 c558-9 (Link to this contribution) I am glad that the hon. Gentleman mentions Kevin McNamara. I was going to come on to him next, but t...
Evan Harris | 490 c560 (Link to this contribution) Of course I accept that. The hon. Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) says that he supports the B...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c560 (Link to this contribution) I have great affection for the hon. Gentleman and his success, but I hope that he will discuss the l...
Edward Leigh | 490 c561 (Link to this contribution) There is nothing wrong with being a Vatican stooge.
Evan Harris | 490 c560-1 (Link to this contribution) I am asked to resist that suggestion. I do not want to get ahead of myself by thinking about the Com...
Evan Harris | 490 c561-2 (Link to this contribution) That may be so, but sometimes there is something wrong with being seen to be a Vatican stooge. That ...
Stephen Pound | 490 c562 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman; he has been most generous in giving way. Before he moves away f...
Evan Harris | 490 c562 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I will get in my quote from Kevin McNamara, who pre-empted me...
Evan Harris | 490 c562-3 (Link to this contribution) That is a point well made. Of course, we are here primarily as parliamentarians, but those who wish ...
Evan Harris | 490 c556 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his support on this and on other important matters, an...
Lord Spellar | 490 c556 (Link to this contribution) I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been ...
Denis MacShane | 490 c556 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way so early. Before he develops his arguments, may I...
Evan Harris | 490 c556 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. It is first appropriate for the House to of...
Edward Leigh | 490 c578 (Link to this contribution) I apologise. We have an established Church in England and we also have the established Presbyterian ...
Evan Harris | 490 c577-8 (Link to this contribution) We cannot presume the Queen's opinion or state what we think it might be, but although she cannot co...
Edward Leigh | 490 c578 (Link to this contribution) In reality, it would not be an embarrassment. There has not been a royal veto since Queen Anne in 17...
Stephen Pound | 490 c577 (Link to this contribution) I would never presume to correct such a senior member of my faith. However, whereas I entirely agree...
Edward Leigh | 490 c577 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps that is going too far—a bit of hyperbole. With the royals, we have to lay flattery on with a...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c576 (Link to this contribution) More recently, the hon. Gentleman's noble Friend, the late Viscount Hailsham, had to enact a provisi...
Edward Leigh | 490 c576-7 (Link to this contribution) We need to deal with the problem; it is ongoing. Let us examine some of the objections to a change....
Edward Leigh | 490 c578 (Link to this contribution) One should not venture into other countries because one's knowledge starts getting feeble. I will le...
Simon Hughes | 490 c573 (Link to this contribution) The whole House recognises the fantastic service and qualities of the Queen, and whatever people's v...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c573 (Link to this contribution) Yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but in my defence, the long title of the Bill demonstrably relates to succe...
Speaker | 490 c573 (Link to this contribution) May I just agree with the last point that was just made? We are also straying into the subject of ab...
Stephen Pound | 490 c572-3 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. Not for the first time, the House has been...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c568-70 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) on introducing the Bill, a...
Evan Harris | 490 c568 (Link to this contribution) I understand that that is another overdue piece of legislation, but I suspect that it will become la...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c571-2 (Link to this contribution) Probably, yes; there is some logic in what the hon. Gentleman says. I will have to refer to the Sta...
Simon Hughes | 490 c571 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that there is a view that if these clearly discriminatory provisions ...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c570-1 (Link to this contribution) What I wanted to show is that there is no lack of will on this issue; everyone agrees that the curre...
Speaker | 490 c570 (Link to this contribution) Order. May I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that the House should hear his opinions on these matte...
Evan Harris | 490 c576 (Link to this contribution) Even though I do not approve of it, the fact that effigies are burned every year makes the point. Th...
Edward Leigh | 490 c576 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is obviously an expert on this, and perhaps we need to find out about and debate ...
Edward Leigh | 490 c576 (Link to this contribution) No, we should not, and that is a point that I made earlier. Muslim and Jewish people are quite right...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c573-4 (Link to this contribution) Or they are frightened. My right hon. Friend did not treat it with levity, but some do. It is impor...
Stephen Pound | 490 c575 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the only theological objection to the Roman Catholic Church in...
Edward Leigh | 490 c574-5 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to be here today to support the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c575-6 (Link to this contribution) Before we move away from the question of marriages and how unfair the situation could be to the mona...
Edward Leigh | 490 c575 (Link to this contribution) Yes, we all know that it was about the politics of then and about James II, and there is no possible...
Evan Harris | 490 c565 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for putting that on the record. The Government do not need...
Jack Straw | 490 c564 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman aware that my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House is about t...
Speaker | 490 c564 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am reluctant to stop the right hon. Gentleman, but he appears to be embarking on a speech. ...
Jack Straw | 490 c564 (Link to this contribution) The Government did indeed say that we would get rid of unjustified discrimination wherever it existe...
Evan Harris | 490 c564 (Link to this contribution) I would encourage hon. Members to focus on the topic at hand. The Bill provides enough key issues. ...
Simon Hughes | 490 c564 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) and I we...
Evan Harris | 490 c563-4 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that even a referendum on the EU treaty would have 89 per cent. support, unless the D...
Philip Davies | 490 c563 (Link to this contribution) What about a referendum on the EU treaty?
Evan Harris | 490 c563 (Link to this contribution) I did not realise that this was a quiz. I say to my tutor that my list only goes up to No. 40, and t...
Stephen Pound | 490 c563 (Link to this contribution) I would be reluctant to use the expression "hangs in there" in the context of this debate. Can the h...
Jack Straw | 490 c568 (Link to this contribution) I have to make two points. First, that is completely contrary to the ministerial code. Secondly, is ...
Evan Harris | 490 c567 (Link to this contribution) Exactly. Hon. Members have been dealing with the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill...
Philip Davies | 490 c567 (Link to this contribution) To help the hon. Gentleman on that point, I shall cite Lord Falconer. When speaking about the Bill, ...
Evan Harris | 490 c568 (Link to this contribution) Let me finish outlining the terms of the wager. If the Secretary of State does not make the changes,...
Evan Harris | 490 c565-6 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Thurrock will indeed have a chance, as I am on the last part of my speech, in wh...
Speaker | 490 c565 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman is falling into the same trap as the Secretary of State. I believe he is s...
Evan Harris | 490 c567 (Link to this contribution) In answer to a question on constitutional renewal, the Secretary of State said:""Let me say to my ho...
Edward Leigh | 490 c567 (Link to this contribution) No Commonwealth country would object. That would be ridiculous. Consultation could be done with a ph...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c565 (Link to this contribution) The Justice Secretary said in an aside, "Come on Andrew," because he saw my body language indicating...
Speaker | 490 c593 (Link to this contribution) Order. We do not want to move into the realm of commercials, either.
Lord Bellingham | 490 c593-4 (Link to this contribution) I shall certainly go out and buy a copy with great alacrity, because the Bishop of Rochester is a re...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c593 (Link to this contribution) I shall make no more remarks about the bishops, other than to say that the two truly remarkable men ...
Edward Leigh | 490 c593 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend mentions the Bishop of Rochester. I hope that he will buy a book that is to be publis...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c595 (Link to this contribution) I regard my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (Mr. Spellar) as a source of great certainty in ...
Baroness Featherstone | 490 c595 (Link to this contribution) I find that quite offensive. It sends out a message, from the highest place in this land, that women...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c594-5 (Link to this contribution) I would, but I will come on to that subject in a moment. I wish to make some comments about the Bill...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c594 (Link to this contribution) I came to the debate this morning with no settled intention of speaking, but having heard the eloque...
Stephen Pound | 490 c594 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham), speaking from the Opposition Front Bench, r...
Speaker | 490 c592 (Link to this contribution) Order. Perhaps I can save the hon. Gentleman embarrassment about his family by suggesting that we co...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c593 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has made an excellent bid for the deputy speakership. Mr. Deputy Speaker decided ...
Speaker | 490 c593 (Link to this contribution) Order. It was only a matter of time.
Evan Harris | 490 c592 (Link to this contribution) Before the hon. Gentleman further talks down the Church of England—
Lord Bellingham | 490 c592-3 (Link to this contribution) I do not disagree with the hon. Gentleman. I said that it is a good thing that the Bill would not pr...
Stephen Pound | 490 c587-8 (Link to this contribution) I make absolutely no secret of that. I am certainly not trying to talk the Bill out, and in view of ...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c590 (Link to this contribution) I think that the hon. Gentleman is wrong about the overseas territories and the overseas dependencie...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c588-9 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) on his success with the Bi...
Baroness Featherstone | 490 c589-90 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman aware that not long ago I referred the case of Lady Louise and her brother to ...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c591-2 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is getting a bit carried away. I am not suggesting that we do it right away, but ...
Jack Straw | 490 c592 (Link to this contribution) As the forebear to whom the hon. Gentleman refers murdered a Prime Minister, could he explain how, r...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c590-1 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who made an interesting speech and is, without doubt, an expert...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c591 (Link to this contribution) This is an important point, because an awful lot of angst and irritation was caused in Sweden—appare...
Stephen Pound | 490 c585 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry. Anyone who can inform the House of the precise details of the reverse perambulation of t...
Stephen Pound | 490 c585-6 (Link to this contribution) I acknowledge my right hon. Friend's sedentary intervention. Let me bring the matter more up to dat...
Evan Harris | 490 c586 (Link to this contribution) According to the House of Commons Library paper, during the debate on Lord Archer of Weston-super-Ma...
Stephen Pound | 490 c586-7 (Link to this contribution) I entirely understand the hon. Gentleman's point, but I am still reluctant to enter too much into in...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c587 (Link to this contribution) I hope that my hon. Friend will not take this unkindly, but may I ask him a question?
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c587 (Link to this contribution) Is he trying to talk this Bill out?
Stephen Pound | 490 c587 (Link to this contribution) Of course I am not. I am a strong supporter of this Bill. If I were to criticise it in any way, I wo...
Stephen Pound | 490 c584 (Link to this contribution) You are entirely correct, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The point that I was trying to make is that I detect i...
Speaker | 490 c584 (Link to this contribution) Order. We have heard about Titus Oates at some length; we do not want to hear too much about Lord Ge...
Stephen Pound | 490 c584 (Link to this contribution) To imply that a Government Whip is in any way a Government stooge is outrageous. The scale of remune...
Edward Leigh | 490 c584 (Link to this contribution) That story is relevant because Titus Oates was a Government stooge—a bit like a Government Whip—was ...
Stephen Pound | 490 c584 (Link to this contribution) On the subject of innocent Catholics, I give way to the hon. Gentleman.
Stephen Pound | 490 c583-4 (Link to this contribution) Despite those two accusations, Titus Oates was employed by the Duke of Norfolk as an Anglican chapla...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c584-5 (Link to this contribution) A few moments ago, my hon. Friend referred to a Duke of Norfolk, but the current Duke of Norfolk is ...
Stephen Pound | 490 c585 (Link to this contribution) Again, I am grateful. Anyone who can inform the House of the precise details of the reverse perambul...
Stephen Pound | 490 c582-3 (Link to this contribution) It is an interesting argument, although I am not entirely sure that it appeals to me. Apparently, in...
Stephen Pound | 490 c583 (Link to this contribution) On that point, I will happily give way.
Stephen Pound | 490 c580-1 (Link to this contribution) I would like first to refer to some of the interventions that have been made, particularly that of m...
Stephen Pound | 490 c582 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. My mind goes back to 19 December 2001, when he and I were ...
Evan Harris | 490 c581-2 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman saw my postbag, which I would be happy to share with him, as I proposed the Bi...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c583 (Link to this contribution) I am listening intently to my hon. Friend and neighbour, and I do not wish to drop him in it, but wh...
Stephen Pound | 490 c583 (Link to this contribution) Fortunately—I associate myself with the words of the hon. Member for Gainsborough—we have apologised...
Speaker | 490 c583 (Link to this contribution) Order. I trust that the hon. Gentleman is about to tell the House how that relates to the Bill.
Edward Leigh | 490 c578-9 (Link to this contribution) I take that point, but I will not comment on Celtic and Rangers in case I put my foot in it. The Bi...
Jim McGovern | 490 c578 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to profess that I am a Roman Catholic. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman knows of John F....
Edward Leigh | 490 c579-80 (Link to this contribution) Exactly. Let me deal with primogeniture. The hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon will underst...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c579 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. It is worth bearing in mind that the Church of England dioces...
Edward Leigh | 490 c579 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely. Let us bury the idea straight away and give any reassurance necessary that there is no C...
Evan Harris | 490 c579 (Link to this contribution) Of course, the problem would exist if the heir to the throne married a Jewish woman. Under Jewish la...
Evan Harris | 490 c580 (Link to this contribution) I totally accept the hon. Gentleman's position and he was clear with me from the outset. However, it...
Edward Leigh | 490 c580 (Link to this contribution) That is a good moment to end. The Bill is about the message that we send to the people of this count...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c595-6 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend that there has been a difference in reaction from different parts of dif...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c595 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend puts his case passionately, but the Cardinal is entitled to his opinion as well.
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c595 (Link to this contribution) Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor is the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Prima...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c595 (Link to this contribution) I was referring specifically to the provisions that deal with the repeal of the Act of Settlement an...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c596 (Link to this contribution) In due course. However, I share the view expressed from the Opposition Front Bench that the change m...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c596 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. It has been made by other hon. Members and ho...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c596-7 (Link to this contribution) Well I do, yes. However, my period ends with the restoration. In a spirit of full disclosure, I shou...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c597 (Link to this contribution) As always, my hon. Friend has a point and makes it well. What I do not know is who the one MP who ob...
Stephen Pound | 490 c597 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will have noticed that King James II, a Roman Catholic, was supreme governor of the C...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c596 (Link to this contribution) Unlike my hon. Friends the Members for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) and for Ealing, North (Stephen Po...
Speaker | 490 c596 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) has had ample opportunity this morning to put...
Speaker | 490 c598 (Link to this contribution) Order. We should stick to the Bill before the House.
Stephen Pound | 490 c597 (Link to this contribution) When Thomas Arne wrote the national anthem in 1745, he wrote three verses that are seldom sung; one ...
Evan Harris | 490 c598 (Link to this contribution) Clause 2(2) would amend the Bill of Rights, which the hon. Gentleman feels is an example of somethin...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c598 (Link to this contribution) I am all in favour of replacing the national anthem with "Jerusalem". I am not as concerned about t...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c598 (Link to this contribution) With all due respect to the hon. Gentleman, he is being slightly naive in saying that he can put for...
Evan Harris | 490 c598 (Link to this contribution) On the Act of Settlement, the only proposal in the Bill is to take out the words,""or shall marry a ...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c598 (Link to this contribution) Let me make two points in response to that. First, there is much in the Act of Settlement—I will ref...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c599 (Link to this contribution) If my hon. Friend has been listening, he will know that I am not saying that such things are impossi...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c599 (Link to this contribution) Just before my hon. Friend entered this House, we amended the provisions of the Bill of Rights of 16...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c599 (Link to this contribution) I will come to that in a moment, but let my finish my point. Another provision in the Act of Settlem...
David Howarth | 490 c599 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman tell the House what specific ramifications there may be of taking out the wo...
Stephen Pound | 490 c600 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to accuse my hon. Friend of being disestablishmentarian, or even antidisestablishmenta...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c599-600 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you for bringing me back to the second point th...
Speaker | 490 c599 (Link to this contribution) Order. I have difficulty seeing how that relates to the Bill. Could the hon. Gentleman concentrate o...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c601-2 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, in the café society of Shepherd's Bush, where I can often be found. I do not know whether t...
Stephen Pound | 490 c601 (Link to this contribution) Could my hon. Friend help those of us who seem to be hearing in his words a new extension being buil...
Stephen Pound | 490 c601 (Link to this contribution) In the cafés of Shepherd's Bush.
Andy Slaughter | 490 c601 (Link to this contribution) I shall have to reply outside the Chamber to my hon. Friend's very interesting, almost theological p...
Evan Harris | 490 c600 (Link to this contribution) It is only fair to Professor Blackburn to point out that the link he made concerned a provision that...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c600 (Link to this contribution) I know what the hon. Gentleman is doing—he is trying to get his Bill through, as he is entitled to d...
Stephen Pound | 490 c600-1 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making the entirely valid point that there may be unintended consequences and an u...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c601 (Link to this contribution) I understand the frustration that has brought this Bill and previous Bills to the House. I have been...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c600 (Link to this contribution) I would never ascribe base or hidden motives to the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon, altho...
Philip Davies | 490 c617 (Link to this contribution) That would give the hon. Gentleman even more time to go through his concerns about the Bishop of Win...
Speaker | 490 c617 (Link to this contribution) Order. I hope that the hon. Gentleman, instead of referring to conferences and other arenas for disc...
Philip Davies | 490 c616-7 (Link to this contribution) I am not here to speak up for the Church of England, and it is not for me to interfere in its strife...
Stephen Pound | 490 c617 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Speaker | 490 c618 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman must be concise in his interventions.
Philip Davies | 490 c617 (Link to this contribution) As always, Madam Deputy Speaker, you are entirely right. I was tempting myself down a path that I sh...
Philip Davies | 490 c616 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is again tempting me down a line of ifs and hypotheticals. I am sure, Madam Deput...
Stephen Pound | 490 c616 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely grateful to the hon.—and flattering— Gentleman for giving way again. In speaking of t...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c616 (Link to this contribution) Has it occurred to the hon. Gentleman and the other people who excuse themselves for not advancing t...
Stephen Pound | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) I will certainly not tempt the hon. Gentleman down any forbidden byways or pathways. He makes the so...
Philip Davies | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly valid point and he makes it, typically, very well. My contentio...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c615 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman believes everything he reads in the Daily Mail, no doubt he believes everythin...
Philip Davies | 490 c615 (Link to this contribution) I accept the hon. Gentleman's point, although I do not always believe everything I hear on the BBC. ...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c615 (Link to this contribution) He was talking through a hole in his hat.
Philip Davies | 490 c615 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman may speak disparagingly about a former Cabinet Minister in his Government, but on...
Christopher Chope | 490 c615 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that if there were ever a subject that should have pre-legislative scruti...
Speaker | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) I will protect the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) from straying from the content of the Bil...
Philip Davies | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) I totally accept your ruling, Madam Deputy Speaker so, however tempted I am, I will not go down the ...
Speaker | 490 c622 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman's comments are certainly on the record now. I have allowed that, but may I...
Jack Straw | 490 c622 (Link to this contribution) I will be brief, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I simply make the point that in one area after another—wh...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c622 (Link to this contribution) The Lord Chancellor is going back into distant history, but I take grave exception to what he said a...
Jack Straw | 490 c621 (Link to this contribution) The priority that the Prime Minister said that the Government would give the matter. No one in the C...
Simon Hughes | 490 c621 (Link to this contribution) On the Commonwealth question, it is generally accepted that the issue is one not for the whole Commo...
Evan Harris | 490 c621 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way and responding to the debate—I was not aware ...
Speaker | 490 c620 (Link to this contribution) Order. Perhaps rather than indirect references, we can have a continuation of the Secretary of State...
Jack Straw | 490 c620 (Link to this contribution) Bedfordshire. He was one of the many who fled south and east during the chicken run of the mid—
Jack Straw | 490 c619-20 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) on coming third in the bal...
Alistair Burt | 490 c620 (Link to this contribution) And talks to them about private Members' Bills.
Jack Straw | 490 c620 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman used to be the Member for Bury, North until he lost his seat, but now represents ...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c618 (Link to this contribution) I do apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. Does the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) agree that th...
Philip Davies | 490 c618 (Link to this contribution) I accept the thrust of what the hon. Gentleman said. I am not sure that I would particularly agree w...
Philip Davies | 490 c618-9 (Link to this contribution) The point is that there are arguments against the repeal of the 1772 Act. They may well not be persu...
Stephen Pound | 490 c605 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that when Michael English promoted one of the first succession Bills in 19...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c605 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker. I shall conclude simply by saying that I rea...
Speaker | 490 c605 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman has had some liberty. I ask him now either to conclude his remarks or to c...
David Howarth | 490 c607-8 (Link to this contribution) The idea behind the Bill is that those principles of non-discrimination are universal and that they ...
Alan Reid | 490 c607 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the important messages that the Bill sends out to the whole co...
David Howarth | 490 c606-7 (Link to this contribution) It is one of the unwritten rules of Fridays that the more one supports a Bill the less one should sa...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c605-6 (Link to this contribution) Indeed I do. I think that that, along with the publicity and the overwhelming support for the Bill, ...
Speaker | 490 c610 (Link to this contribution) Order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman could now concentrate his remarks on the Bill.
Philip Davies | 490 c609-10 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. Reid), who clearly feels strongl...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c602-3 (Link to this contribution) I get closer with each of the hon. Gentleman's interventions. Who knows—in a few short minutes, I ma...
Evan Harris | 490 c602 (Link to this contribution) I did not misquote David Mitchell because I did not quote him—I paraphrased his argument. I do not k...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c603 (Link to this contribution) Let me repeat—if the hon. Gentleman has been listening to my speech, he will have heard this—that no...
Alan Reid | 490 c603 (Link to this contribution) I have been listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman's argument and would like to try to help him s...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c604 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for my hon. Friend's intervention because it allows me to say again what an enormous f...
Stephen Pound | 490 c604 (Link to this contribution) As a Catholic, I have to say that if the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) foun...
Speaker | 490 c604 (Link to this contribution) Order. May I once again ask the hon. Gentleman to confine his remarks not to the personalities, but ...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c604-5 (Link to this contribution) You have pulled me up short at exactly the right moment, Madam Deputy Speaker, so that I can draw my...
Speaker | 490 c605 (Link to this contribution) Order. This Bill is not about the abolition of the monarchy. I once again remind the hon. Gentleman ...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c605 (Link to this contribution) I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. That was a concluding peroration before I finally make my mind up...
Philip Davies | 490 c612 (Link to this contribution) As a true Conservative, I believe that all unnecessary change is bad. As I said earlier in reply to ...
Speaker | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) Order. I hope the hon. Gentleman is going to make an appropriate intervention on the Bill.
Christopher Chope | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) I apologise to my hon. Friend for the fact that I have not seen today's Daily Mail because I have be...
Evan Harris | 490 c613 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is very wise and therefore, although he may agree with everything that is written...
Philip Davies | 490 c613 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. I would say in response that that seems already to have happe...
Simon Hughes | 490 c613 (Link to this contribution) I have one last very short point. If we look back over the past 100 years, we see that many initiati...
Philip Davies | 490 c612-3 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that our friends in Hansard will be able to correct us on this point, but I fear that the ...
Stephen Pound | 490 c612 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, and for his earlier extraordinarily generous com...
Christopher Chope | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) So do I, Madam Deputy Speaker. It would set a very bad example if, as a member of the Chairmen's Pan...
Alan Reid | 490 c611 (Link to this contribution) I am following the hon. Gentleman's argument, but surely if discrimination on grounds of sex and rel...
Philip Davies | 490 c611 (Link to this contribution) That is self-evidently true. There are a lot of ifs in British history, and I am sure that you do no...
Simon Hughes | 490 c611 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Gentleman's argument, but I really disagree with him. If the changes proposed ...
Philip Davies | 490 c611 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Gentleman's point, but the thrust of my argument is that, in many respects, th...
Speaker | 490 c610 (Link to this contribution) Order. I appreciate the point that the hon. Gentleman was making. I still think that he should now m...
Philip Davies | 490 c610 (Link to this contribution) I shall certainly do so, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was simply making the point that we cannot take it ...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c610-1 (Link to this contribution) I am waiting with bated breath to hear whether the hon. Gentleman is for the Bill or against it. He ...
Philip Davies | 490 c610 (Link to this contribution) I certainly intend to do so. The point has been well made during the debate that we have seen fine e...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c612 (Link to this contribution) I understand—and indeed agree with the hon. Gentleman on—the points about complexity and unintended ...
Jack Straw | 490 c624-5 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that I am not ready to specify a precise timetable. I can say to the hon. Gentleman, how...
Evan Harris | 490 c624 (Link to this contribution) Actually, off that point. I am loth to interrupt the Secretary of State, but his recalling of the lo...
Evan Harris | 490 c624 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?
Jack Straw | 490 c623-4 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, or earlier. The hon. Gentleman will recollect that, because on one occasion he got there bef...
Jack Straw | 490 c623 (Link to this contribution) The Bill is about gender discrimination, but it is also about serious discrimination against members...
Speaker | 490 c623 (Link to this contribution) Order. We cannot stray into the subject of all-women shortlists. Can we please concentrate on the co...
Jack Straw | 490 c623 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman should speak more often. I look forward to his attributes and his merits being be...
Speaker | 490 c622 (Link to this contribution) Order. I brought the hon. Gentleman to order before on that point.
Jack Straw | 490 c628-9 (Link to this contribution) The chances are very limited. One should never say never, but there is a lot to do. The hon. Member...
Simon Hughes | 490 c629 (Link to this contribution) If the Secretary of State is not willing today to let the Bill go to Committee, so that an amendment...
Jack Straw | 490 c628 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to give a precise time scale this afternoon, least of all one that, for other reasons,...
Edward Leigh | 490 c628 (Link to this contribution) I understand that the Secretary of State will not give a precise timetable, but is there any chance ...
Evan Harris | 490 c628 (Link to this contribution) Another benefit of the Bill would be that Peter Phillips could marry someone with whom he fell in lo...
Jack Straw | 490 c629 (Link to this contribution) I shall certainly ensure that soundings are taken of Commonwealth Heads of Government and talk to my...
Stephen Pound | 490 c625 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend will, of course, be as familiar as I am with the current edition of The Catholi...
Jack Straw | 490 c625-6 (Link to this contribution) I have already said that no one could argue with the principle—and no one has done so today, not eve...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c626 (Link to this contribution) With the greatest respect, I think that, on the details, the Secretary of State is wrong. I do not w...
Jack Straw | 490 c626 (Link to this contribution) I was going to come to that. The hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon and others say that this...
Jack Straw | 490 c626-7 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry, but I suggest that what I have said could be one of the consequences, and I certainly be...
Evan Harris | 490 c626 (Link to this contribution) I think that the Secretary of State has indicated in those remarks that he has not read the Bill, be...
Jack Straw | 490 c627 (Link to this contribution) I say to the hon. Gentleman that one of the many values of today's debate has been to clarify that a...
Simon Hughes | 490 c627 (Link to this contribution) This is really important business, but the Justice Secretary has not yet given us an explanation of ...
Jack Straw | 490 c627 (Link to this contribution) Of course, but the same five would be reshuffled. The first three on the list would be unchanged—the...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c590 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Lady for reminding me of that episode. The whole debate on this issue has ...
Stephen Pound | 490 c596 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. He is honourable and he is my friend. I know little ...
Speaker | 490 c601 (Link to this contribution) Order. I think that our role this morning in this House is to discuss the Bill before us.
Philip Davies | 490 c615-6 (Link to this contribution) I agree. Generally, we should tread carefully when we seek to make major constitutional changes. It ...
Philip Davies | 490 c622 (Link to this contribution) The Bill relates to gender discrimination. That is what we are on about. The Secretary of State is s...
Philip Davies | 490 c614 (Link to this contribution) I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman makes, but he misses my point. I do not think a priva...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c573 (Link to this contribution) I accept that because, if the Bill of the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon, which I support...
Lord Bellingham | 490 c592 (Link to this contribution) I had a ready reply, but I will take your strictures into account, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and resist gi...
Andrew Mackinlay | 490 c593 (Link to this contribution) I am straining to understand where the hon. Gentleman's comments are taking us. When I addressed the...
Evan Harris | 490 c592 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, and he therefore has every right to talk it down, but I urge him to consider that the Church...
Edward Leigh | 490 c580 (Link to this contribution) If we were entirely motivated by logic, perhaps we would not have a monarchy at all. However, we kno...
Andy Slaughter | 490 c618 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and he echoes a point that I made. He has drawn attention ...
Alan Reid | 490 c608-9 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) on his Bill, whi...
Philip Davies | 490 c612 (Link to this contribution) I understand the point. Time will tell, I guess, but one of my fears is that the Bill advances that ...
Evan Harris | 490 c559 (Link to this contribution) In fact, the extract from Professor Bogdanor's book that I read out implies that he wants that provi...
Jack Straw | 490 c621-2 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will be aware that quite a considerable part of relations with other states is co...
Jack Straw | 490 c620-1 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman met the fate of most chickens, but luckily for him—and for the Commons; I am very...
Subjects
Commonwealth Church of England Catholicism Church and state Women Equality Discrimination Marriage Monarchy Religion Succession Religious freedom Royal family
Legislation
Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill 2008-09
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk