Speeches by Norman.

“Ultimately, the Prime Minister has to be responsible for the behaviour, the conduct and the adherence to norms, standards, conventions and rules of the House. I do not think any derogation from that is possible; that is how our system works. If the Prime Minister wishes to vary his or her judgment on the practice, our …”

“Let me come to that in a second. On the parliamentary side, the Committee could profitably consult with the Clerks as to methods by which this could be handled on the parliamentary side. On the ministerial side, it is hard to know. In our system, a Prime Minister with a large majority has an almost unfettered capacity …”

“As I said, I think it is a mistake to equate sanctions and the Prime Minister. I think there can be parliamentary sanctions, and we have talked about those. The Committee could very properly—”

“That is a very good question. Yes, it is a permissive or so-called directive “should”, rather than a mandating “must”. I have always regarded that as being a polite compulsion, but if Ministers do not regard it as a polite compulsion, there is definitely a case for strengthening that language. Part of the problem when …”

“Yes, that is absolutely right. On 2 June we had a UQ on Government announcements outside the House. The Leader said, “I am satisfied that the Government are coming to the House regularly to keep Parliament informed,” and the Speaker said, “I am not satisfied, and I think that is the key.” And of course he is absolutely…”

“I have not thought about that question. It is very interesting, and it is definitely worth consideration by the Committee, and consultation with the Clerks perhaps, but I have not thought it through. It would, to some extent, increase the sanction implied by having an urgent question, and it would reduce the Government…”

“Urgent questions were a recommendation by Lord Lisvane when he was Clerk of the House, as part of a series of changes that were suggested by the Clerks, and Speaker Bercow picked that up. I think it has been an immense improvement to the way in which the Commons has functioned. I would not regret it for one moment. But…”

“No, I am afraid that I really do not. The SDR was a classic example, and the Committee was absolutely right to focus on that. There was no need to bring it on a Monday morning; it could easily have been brought on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of that week—let alone a Monday morning after recess. There was no need…”

“I think the Committee has a very important role here. If one is thinking of different ways of curing different aspects of the problem, one way could be a Committee investigation and recommendations as to what the status and wording of the rule might be. Another might be a follow-up statement from the Leader enunciating…”

“As I think her testimony demonstrated, the principle is not clear, to her at least. I think it is relatively clear, and I have enunciated what I think the primacy of Parliament amounts to in this. It is that announcements should be made here first. There is an ambiguity about the word “announcement”, which we could com…”

“I was a Minister for six or seven years and I never really detected that, but then I am fanatical about the proper discharge of a ministerial role and the accountability to Parliament, so I am in a way the wrong person to ask that. I do think that, as an institution, the civil service could have broader shoulders and m…”

“For 40 years, probably.”

“That is very interesting. I can see an argument in both directions on that. The historical problem, as you will know, is that people have tended to worry about standards issues being used to exercise political control over Members of Parliament. That has been a worry for hundreds of years. However, the question of whet…”

“I think the constitutional point is absolutely right: one has to be really careful about tinkering. The problem in this institution is arguably too little accountability. That is what you are seeking. As soon as we vary that, we run the risk of blurring lines of accountability.”

“I am a broken record on the topic, but if anyone wants to buy it, it is absurdly inexpensive and widely available.”

“That is a very fair challenge, and my view is in no sense one that would not be subject to revision if we had a proper conversation about it, but I do think there is a problem with the way that you have described it. Obviously, if the House felt sufficiently strongly about something, it could instruct the Speaker to im…”

“I think the Prime Minister properly is under an obligation to account for his or her own Ministers, but I do not think that means that Parliament does not and should not have its own sanctions. Historically, Parliament has always exercised its own sanctions. The fact that we have, in some respects, given in to the Exec…”

“I can imagine no greater topic of debate in the Dog and Duck on a Thursday or Friday evening. No, of course it is not front and centre, but then the mysteries of the constitution of this country have long been celebrated. Indeed, Bagehot gives them a formal dressing in the distinction between the dignified and the effi…”

“I think it is absolutely the right place for it to be laid out. I do not accept the idea—again, this is another equivocation in what the Leader said—that the fact that the ministerial code is “the Prime Minister’s document” means that others cannot comment on it or seek to improve it. Likewise, I do not think it should…”

“I do not think it is as clear as it could be. Let’s come on to that question first, and then we will pick up on other things. I think it would be helpful for the Committee to enunciate a suggestion for what “most important” might be. If I may, let me make some suggestions for a direction in which that might go. For exa…”