Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

I genuinely do not believe that that is the reason. My hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Damian Collins) pointed out that three of the last five Parliaments lasted five years, and I was developing a point about the average length of post-1945 Parliaments. If the three failed Parliaments lasting less than two years are stripped out, the average length of a Parliament since 1945 has been more than four years. Since 1974 the lengths have been even greater, so there is a clear trend that Parliaments are lasting longer.