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WE'JSTM NSTEI 5

28th April 1978, Page 7
28th April 1978
Page 7
Page 7, 28th April 1978 — WE'JSTM NSTEI 5
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

HAUL

THF. OLD place will never be the same again! Tuesday and Thursday mornings without Standing Committee B working away on the Transport Bill. . all of a sudden the Palace of Westminster has become a duller place. But all good things have to come to an end. and after 20 meetings the Committee has • made all the changes to the Bill which the Government felt it could allow.

It all ended — as was only right — in a burst of mutual congratulations. Transport Minister William Rodgers had nice things to say about the chairman, Sir Stephen MeAdden, the Tory opposition and the one Liberal whose allegiance varied according to the topic under discussion . . . "It has been a happy Committeewas the Minister's verdict.

His opposite number, Norman Fowler, pretty well echoed all these sentiments, while Sir Stephen rounded it all off by thanking everyone in sight, from the MPs and the Committee Clerk to the Hansard reporters and the members of the public.

It was a fitting ending to on the whole very good-natured proceedings, which would have been an eye-opener to any outsider who thinks that MPs are incapable of working without shouting "yah-boo" at the other side.

True, there had been the occasional flash of inter-party acerbity, the odd cutting remark . . but then again there were birthday greetings for Norman Fowler (40) and John Horam (a year younger).

Incidentally, the Under-Secretary could well look on the Committee proceedings as an extended birthday present which could grow in value.

His boss, making what he admitted was his first appearance on a Commons Committee for nearly 10 years, is a Cabinet Minister and could not turn up very often ("Unaccustomed as I am to speaking in this Committee" was how he started off one speech).

So the task of representing the Government fell largely on his lieutenant. . and no-one would contest that he made a good job of it.

The proceedings were full of incident. Both leaders were gently rebuked for reading newspapers; there were a couple of panics when it was found that some MPs had disappeared leaving less than a quorum: confusion reigned when emergency lists of amendments (the official printers had industrial troubles) varied from Member to Member.

There were tied votes which meant that Sir Stephen — a temporarily neutral Tory — had to vote for the Government, a duty he performed with the resoluteness one would expect from a four-star admiral in the Cherry River Navy of West Virginia (an honour revealed by fellow admiral Roger Moate).


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