Meeting of the Parliament 13 November 2024
I absolutely concur with that point. I make no assumptions about how people will vote, although it was interesting of Liam Kerr to suggest that he thinks that I am asking people to “meekly” fall in line. I look forward to seeing whether there will be great variance in how the Conservative members vote this evening or whether they will meekly fall in line with Mr Kerr’s request.
In relation to Ms Chapman’s point, if we do not vote for the business motion that is before us because the amendments in the name of Liam Kerr and/or Martin Whitfield are agreed to, we put in jeopardy our ability to have an urgent response to what we all recognise is an urgent situation that is placing our prison estate under great pressure, which is not good for those who work in the prison estate. Let us remember those who work in that estate as well as those who are incarcerated there. If the business motion that is before us is not agreed to, the Government and the Parliament will not be allowed to respond urgently.
The matter is urgent, as is reflected in the timetable that the Government has developed. The Government’s starting point is to maximise parliamentary scrutiny as far as is possible. Mr Whitfield made the point that standing orders ordinarily prescribe that an emergency bill be dealt with and disposed of within one day. I am not asking Parliament to do that. I am asking for an expedited timescale that is quicker than normal, but one that is not as constrained as one day.
On that basis, I urge Parliament to reject the amendments in the names of Mr Kerr and Mr Whitfield and to vote for the business motion that is before us.