I am slightly flummoxed by the hon. Gentleman's charming naivety about what might have happened after the general election. The Bill does many things that are inappropriate, but I do not think it does that, and the truth of the matter is that there have been many changes of Administration over the centuries under the existing arrangements, not least in the first and second world wars. Having a fixed-term Parliament does not in itself mean what the hon. Gentleman has described will happen. It is perfectly possible that we will win a significant number of by-elections over the coming years, or that some Liberal Democrats or others may change their party affiliation, and—[Interruption.]It is possible; I said only that. The Minister should do the nice bit again. In such circumstances, the mathematics would change.
Fixed-term Parliaments Bill
Proceeding contribution from
Chris Bryant
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 18 January 2011.
It occurred during Debate on bills
and
Committee of the Whole House (HC) on Fixed-term Parliaments Bill.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
521 c726-7 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
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Timestamp
2023-12-15 14:25:47 +0000
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