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Trade Unions (Ballots)

Volume 892: debated on Thursday 22 May 1975

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I appreciate your ruling earlier, Mr. Speaker, about reports of Standing Committee proceedings. I was seeking to elicit from the Prime Minister some clarification of the undertaking given at Question Time on Tuesday when in reply to a Question by my right hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Prior) he gave a clear impression that the Government's policy was to introduce postal voting from public funds as soon as possible. I appreciate that we cannot refer to the Standing Committee proceedings. The House is in some difficulty since the Committee proceedings cannot be read by hon. Members because they are not being printed. Therefore, hon. Members will not realise that there was a vote on this matter which—

Order. The hon. Gentleman has a clear way of making his point. On business questions he can say to the Leader of the House "In view of what happened in Committee upstairs this morning"—without referring to what it was that happened in the Committee "has the Leader of the House a statement to make?" That is the proper way to go about the matter.

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I thought I heard the hon. Member for St. Marylebone (Mr. Baker) say that I gave an undertaking on Tuesday that there would be Government funds for postal ballots. I did not say that. I am sure what I said is in the recollection of the House, and it is recorded in the proceedings. I said that I had no report of the proceedings before the Standing Committee on Tuesday morning but that the Government would consider the position. That was the position then and is the position now. I understand that this was repeated not very far from here not many hours ago.