Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

Members on both sides! For those members who seem to doubt the history and the practice, page 554 of Practice makes very clear what questions can and can't be asked, based on what previous Speakers have ruled out of order—Speakers of all political persuasions, I have to say. They include arrangements between the parties—for example, coalition agreements; policies of previous governments; statements in the House by other members; statements by people outside the House, including other members, notably opposition members, and that's something I think the opposition need to bear in mind if they wish to open this. In other words, all these are anchored around the fact that ministers are responsible for their portfolios. That's what they can be questioned on. This question, I am going to rule out of order. I've given it a lot of consideration. Even though it's asking about a quote from the Prime Minister, essentially it's asking about the Prime Minister's views of a member and of a member's statements. As much as I can see that you'd like me to rule the other way, I feel that if I did do that there'd be a lot of complaints when there were questions about other members. There are other forms of the House where these matters—

A government member interjecting—

No, hang on. There are other forms of the House where these matters can be raised, and they can be raised in a very robust fashion—in fact, have been already today—but the rules for questions are quite clear. I'm being asked to rule differently and I'm not prepared to do that.

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