This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/apr/10/margaret-thatcher-parliament-john-bercow
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Margaret Thatcher: parliament recall sets John Bercow and No 10 at odds | Margaret Thatcher: parliament recall sets John Bercow and No 10 at odds |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Margaret Thatcher's death has dealt a further blow to already strained relations between Downing Street and the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, after the prime minister ditched both past precedent and a long-agreed plan to demand Wednesday's recall of parliament. | Margaret Thatcher's death has dealt a further blow to already strained relations between Downing Street and the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, after the prime minister ditched both past precedent and a long-agreed plan to demand Wednesday's recall of parliament. |
| The seven-and-a-half-hour session of Commons tributes – led by David Cameron and Ed Miliband – had earlier been the subject of tense exchanges between Number 10 and Bercow's office, the Guardian has learned. The Speaker was said to be "taken aback" by the initial request that parliament be recalled, since that move had previously been reserved only for matters of national emergency. | The seven-and-a-half-hour session of Commons tributes – led by David Cameron and Ed Miliband – had earlier been the subject of tense exchanges between Number 10 and Bercow's office, the Guardian has learned. The Speaker was said to be "taken aback" by the initial request that parliament be recalled, since that move had previously been reserved only for matters of national emergency. |
| Officials at Westminster had assumed tributes would come when parliament returned next Monday. That had been the past precedent – followed most recently for the last prime minister to die during a recess, James Callaghan – and had also been the understanding of the set of parliamentary officials charged with planning for Thatcher's death, including representatives of the Tory whips office, the so-called "Blue Tomorrow" group. | Officials at Westminster had assumed tributes would come when parliament returned next Monday. That had been the past precedent – followed most recently for the last prime minister to die during a recess, James Callaghan – and had also been the understanding of the set of parliamentary officials charged with planning for Thatcher's death, including representatives of the Tory whips office, the so-called "Blue Tomorrow" group. |
| But to Blue Tomorrow's surprise, Downing Street officials urged that MPs be summoned right away for Wednesday's marathon session – much longer than any previous one. Starting at 2.30pm and expected to run far into the evening, it dwarfed the 45 minutes the Commons set aside to praise Winston Churchill, the 73 minutes allocated to Edward Heath and the 50-odd minutes in which MPs remembered Labour leaders Callaghan and Harold Wilson. | But to Blue Tomorrow's surprise, Downing Street officials urged that MPs be summoned right away for Wednesday's marathon session – much longer than any previous one. Starting at 2.30pm and expected to run far into the evening, it dwarfed the 45 minutes the Commons set aside to praise Winston Churchill, the 73 minutes allocated to Edward Heath and the 50-odd minutes in which MPs remembered Labour leaders Callaghan and Harold Wilson. |
| The Speaker's team were said to be surprised that a request for such an unprecedented departure from past practice came in a phone call from a mid-ranking Number 10 staffer rather in writing. Bercow asked that protocol be followed and Cameron duly wrote directly to the Speaker formalising his request. | |
| Bercow then sought the opposition's reaction. Labour sources said they pointed out that this was a departure from the agreed plan, but concluded it was "pretty much a fait accompli," believing it all but impossible to obstruct a prime minister set on recalling parliament. One party official conceded that Labour also made the political decision not to cause "a huge row", in which they were bound to be cast as failing to show Thatcher due respect. | Bercow then sought the opposition's reaction. Labour sources said they pointed out that this was a departure from the agreed plan, but concluded it was "pretty much a fait accompli," believing it all but impossible to obstruct a prime minister set on recalling parliament. One party official conceded that Labour also made the political decision not to cause "a huge row", in which they were bound to be cast as failing to show Thatcher due respect. |
| Nevertheless, the Guardian understands that had Miliband asked the Speaker for a ruling on whether MPs should be summoned, Bercow was "minded" to follow precedent and refuse Cameron's request. | Nevertheless, the Guardian understands that had Miliband asked the Speaker for a ruling on whether MPs should be summoned, Bercow was "minded" to follow precedent and refuse Cameron's request. |
| A Downing Street spokesman said "Only government ministers can request the recall of the House, which the Speaker then decides on. The PM felt given the strength of feeling following Lady Thatcher's death it was appropriate to give the House an early opportunity to pay its respects." He dismissed the idea that a pre-agreed plan had been disregarded. "Of course there are guidelines, but when the situation happens you deal with it." He added that there was "nothing unusual" in an initial phone call to discuss such a request before making it formally. | A Downing Street spokesman said "Only government ministers can request the recall of the House, which the Speaker then decides on. The PM felt given the strength of feeling following Lady Thatcher's death it was appropriate to give the House an early opportunity to pay its respects." He dismissed the idea that a pre-agreed plan had been disregarded. "Of course there are guidelines, but when the situation happens you deal with it." He added that there was "nothing unusual" in an initial phone call to discuss such a request before making it formally. |
| Further tension between Number 10 and the Speaker's office came over the format of the proceedings. Tory chief whip Sir George Young is said to have passed on a Downing Street request for the Speaker to advise MPs to suspend their custom and not make "interventions" during other MPs' speeches, thereby minimising the risk the session would descend into partisan argument. Bercow refused, insisting that since the proceeding was technically a debate – another first for a tribute session — the rules of debate would apply. | Further tension between Number 10 and the Speaker's office came over the format of the proceedings. Tory chief whip Sir George Young is said to have passed on a Downing Street request for the Speaker to advise MPs to suspend their custom and not make "interventions" during other MPs' speeches, thereby minimising the risk the session would descend into partisan argument. Bercow refused, insisting that since the proceeding was technically a debate – another first for a tribute session — the rules of debate would apply. |
| The two sides are locked in more procedural wrangling over the arrangements for next week, arguing over how best to ensure parliament does not sit at the same time as Lady Thatcher's funeral. Downing Street's preferred method would preclude the need for a formal Commons motion to be passed, allowing next Wednesday's regular morning business – including prime minister's questions – to be skipped. | |
| Bercow is currently sticking to the rulebook, which could require MPs to agree a delayed Wednesday start in a debate, which would have to be held on Tuesday, a move that would risk the airing of more dissenting views. | |
| Tension between the Speaker and the Tory front bench is long established: when he was elected Speaker in 2009 Bercow was the preferred candidate of many Labour MPs, but not of the Tory leadership. | Tension between the Speaker and the Tory front bench is long established: when he was elected Speaker in 2009 Bercow was the preferred candidate of many Labour MPs, but not of the Tory leadership. |