Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

The hon. Lady seems to think that they did get the best bits from everyone, but that makes it clear to me that she did not believe in the manifesto on which she stood because so many parts of it seem to have been ditched in favour of the policies of the other party. A small and simple change—a very small concession—that would not in any way interfere with the principle of fixed-term Parliaments would make it far easier for the Bill to be passed relatively quickly. It would allow national elections in all parts of the United Kingdom to go forward in the best possible way and our devolved Parliaments and Assemblies to present their policies to the electorate in the way they want to. Our media are very England-centric—and, indeed, London-centric—although Government Members might not be so acutely aware of that as Opposition Members are, and I fear that the domination of the UK-wide poll and the important issues it involves, which must be dealt with, will be such that the important elections for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly will, sadly, be overwhelmed. I fear that the issues, ideas and important policies that concern those elections will not be fully debated before the population, that the arguments will not be properly heard and that people will not get the chance to have their say about how those legislatures have functioned in the preceding years, but it is important that they should get that say. The bulk of the evidence that the Select Committee heard was that what is being asked is not a lot. It seems to be simply stubbornness—perhaps it is about political advantage above all else—to stick to the same position in the face of all the arguments that we have heard. I hope that it is not too late, even now, for the Government to rethink their position and to allow the Bill to pass through the House with the agreement of all parties because we have reached genuine consensus.