Before this question is put to the House, I should like to make one or two observations. I can recall the first sitting of the last House which I attended as an Independent member in July, 1954. The House was faced on that day with the responsibility of deciding a question exactly similar to this. I can recall also that I felt then, as I feel now, that, as an Independent member of the House, answerable to no Party or no Party whip, I was in honour and duty bound to support the nomination of the Government which had been duly and properly elected by the people.
I felt, as I feel now, that the Government of the day, irrespective of the Party or Parties which may be represented in that Government, are quite properly entitled to the confidence of this House in such a matter as the election of the Chairman of the House, and in putting forward the nomination for the Chair they are entitled to have that nomination accepted. That is a purely personal view.
Similarly, I think it is at most times the normal duty of any Independent member of the House to support the Government as far as possible and for as long as his principles will permit him to do so, unless and until the policy of that Government or any of the proposals which they may bring forward in this House implementing that policy conflict with the stated aims or policy on which such Independent member may have secured election to this House. That is what I tried to do consistently and honestly throughout the lifetime of the previous Government.
In having to decide what I should do in regard to this question before the House, I feel that I would still wish to be consistent in such a matter and, consequently, because I wish to be consistent, I regard it now as my clear duty to support the present Government's nomination for the Chair to-day; but before I do that, I should like it to be very clearly and definitely understood that in supporting that nomination to-day, my vote is not to be regarded as an endorsement of the present Government's policy or of their outlook on certain other matters in any sense or in any respect.
I wish to go upon record to-day as stating emphatically that I find myself in violent disagreement with certain aspects of the present Government's policy in several respects, particularly in so far as that policy has, up to the moment, been unfolded to public scrutiny and I reserve, therefore, to myself the right to criticise, to speak against and, if necessary, vote against the implementation of those aspects of that policy in the passage of future legislation through this House. I should like to have that statement recorded as being the expression of my particular view on this matter before the question is put to the House.
