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Question Time in the British House of Commons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Robert W. McCulloch
Affiliation:
University of Michigan

Extract

Within the past hundred years, the practice of asking questions of members of the ministry has grown up as a fixed part of the ordinary procedure of the House of Commons. Within a broad range of subjects, and governed only by a group of rules which are interpreted rather liberally by the Speaker as to subject-matter and form, each member is allowed to put three questions for oral answer on each parliamentary day except Friday, and as many for written answer as he desires. He must give a clear day's notice by handing his questions to the clerks for publication in the Orders of the Day. Questions may also be put by “private notice,” in which case, instead of printed notice, the member gives written notice to the minister concerned and to the Speaker. With permission of the Speaker and the indulgence of the House, inquiries on matters of current public interest are sometimes made without any formal notice.

Type
Foreign Governments and Politics
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1933

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References

1 SirMay, Thomas Erskine, Law and Usage of Parliament (13th ed., by SirWebster, T. Lonsdale, London, 1924), p. 210 Google Scholar, note 2.

2 Ibid., p. 238, note.

3 Ibid.

4 275 Hansard Parl. Deb., 3s., 142 (November 27, 1882).

5 125 Parl. Deb., 5s., Commons, 1050–1 (February 19, 1920)Google Scholar.

6 Parliamentary Gazette, London, September, 1930, p. 123124 Google Scholar.

7 230 Part. Deb., 5s., Commons, 627 (July 18, 1929)Google ScholarPubMed.

8 The Government of England (new ed.), Vol. I, p. 336 Google Scholar.

9 Letter under date of February 10, 1932.

10 The complete story of the incident will be found in the following sources: 237 Parl Debt., 5s., Commons, 2634 (April 14, 1930)Google Scholar; ibid., 2722–3 (April 15, 1930); 238 ibid., 647 (May 5, 1930); 239 ibid., 1765 (June 2, 1930); 240 ibid., 1957–8 (July 2, 1930); 242 ibid., 33, 34 (July 28, 1930); ibid., 613–4 (July 30, 1930); ibid., 900 (August 1, 1930); London Times, July 29, 1930, p. 15 Google Scholar; Parliamentary Gazette, December, 1931, p. 102 Google Scholar.

11 200 Parl. Deb., 5s., Commons, 414416 (November 24, 1926)Google Scholar.

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