THE HONOURABLE
RIGHT HONOURABLE
See Also: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS; TAILORS
During
the late 1970s Jim Callaghan led a minority Labour government. In early 1979 it was subjected to a
systematic opposition in Parliament. The
backbench Labour M.P. Sir Alfred Broughton suffered a major heart attack while
he was at his home in Yorkshire. He
survived it but it was apparent that he was going to die soon. The party's leadership took the decision not
to require him to try to make the journey back to London. This was because the effort that the trip
would have involved would have almost certainly have killed him.
A vote
of confidence in the ministry was due to be held on 28 March. There is a Commons convention whereby if an
M.P. is absent as a result of an illness the other side in the division will
have one of its members abstain. Walter
Harrison, the party's Deputy Chief Whip, approached his Conservative
counterpart Jack Weatherill and asked that, in view of Broughton's situation,
the practice might be observed. The Tory
replied that he did not believe that it extended to votes upon which a ministry
might fall. However, he stated that he
was prepared to abstain. Harrison
appreciated that, by acting in such a manner, the tailor's son would probably
damage his own future career. Therefore,
he declined to accept the offer. The
government lost the division by 311 votes to 310. It fell from power.1
The
Conservative Party won the subsequent general election. In the new Commons Weatherill opted to stand
for the House's Speakership, an office that obligates its holder to act in an
apolitical manner. He did so despite the
fact that the new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was opposed to his doing
so. He was elected to the position. While holding it, he always kept a thimble on
his person in order to remind himself of his origins.
Location:
The Palace of Westminster, Parliament Square, SW1A 0AA (purple, blue)
8
Savile Row, W1S 3PF (blue, pink)
Website:
https://bernardweatherill.com
1. The conversation between the two Whips forms part of James Graham s
play This House (2012).
David
Backhouse 2024