Unionists object as guillotine restricts NI Bill debate
From IRISH TIMES November 19th, 1998
By FRANK MILLAR, London Editor
Angry unionist MPs protested in the House of Commons last night as the British
government proceeded to carry the remaining stages of the Northern Ireland
Bill by way of a guillotine motion, restricting to just four hours a debate
on House of Lords amendments. The Rev Ian Paisley and Mr Robert McCartney
led the unionist assault at the beginning of the 45-minute debate on the
British government's guillotine motion. Mr McCartney described the guillotine
motion as "a democratic and constitutional disgrace". But the unionist protests
were quashed when the government carried its guillotine motion by 290 votes
to six against. At the start of a debate on what Mr McCartney described
as "probably the most important piece of constitutional legislation affecting
Northern Ireland for 80 years" there were just 22 MPs in the Commons chamber.
As the MPs prepared their four-hour consideration of some 420 amendments
to the Bill, described largely as technical and housekeeping in nature,
neither the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Dr Mo Mowlam, or the
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Andrew Mackay, were in their place.
Absent also for the guillotine debate were Mr David Trimble, the First Minister-designate,
and the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon. With the parliamentary
session ending today, the Northern Ireland Bill, which established the Assembly
and provides for the other institutional arrangements of the Belfast Agreement,
is expected to receive the royal assent within the next few days. |
