Last week the Constitution Society was hosted in Parliament by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. The evening lecture and reception celebrated the work of the charity and was a chance to bring together friends and guests in the grand environment of Speaker’s House.
To assembled guests Mr Speaker opened the event with a well-received speech. Sir Lindsay began by praising of the work which Society President Sir Malcolm Jack had done in his time as Clerk of the House of Commons, and explained that he hoped he was continuing in that fine legacy by upholding the best principals of the office of the Speaker. He cautioned that the House must not lose the art of debate, as it is only through the free and facilitated speech and argument of the Members of the House that our democracy can properly function. Mr Speaker concluded by highlighting the important work of the office, which existed to interpret and apply the rules of the House and allowed the Commons to function properly in scrutinising and challenging legislation. Throughout, Sir Lindsay paid generous tribute to the role the clerks played in facilitating this. Sir Malcolm Jack thanked the Speaker for his kind remarks and for hosting the Society for the evening before introduction Eve Samson, Clerk of the Journals.
Eve Samson’s speech focused on the important role which financial procedure plays in the House and its part in our constitution. Such procedure is emblematic of the way in which other processes and rules in the House routinely define the limits of the UK constitution. Using the Speaker’s recent intervention over VAT for private schools legislation as an example, the speech illustrated well how important interventions from the Speaker, often based on principles and convention, can be in defending parliamentary privilege and the rights of parliament.
Finally, Liam Laurence Smyth, a Senior Clerk in the Chamber Business Team and a former Clerk of Legislation, spoke on the work of the “House authorities” as part of the hidden machinery of the Constitution, and the close relationship between Public Bill Office Clerks and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
Both Liam and Eve paid tribute to the late Sir Roy Stone, the embodiment of the “usual channels” who served for many years as principal private secretary to the Government Chief Whip and who will be deeply missed.
In closing the speeches Sir Malcolm Jack thanked Mr Speaker, Eve and Liam for their insightful reflections, and thanked all of those in attendance for their continued support of the Constitution Society.
