Gentleman, as a Minister of the Crown, ought to have regard for Parliament and some understanding of why we were all sent here. The Minister made a pathetic point the last time he intervened, so I shall not give way again. We are sent here to do a job, not to be ciphers or delegates or to endorse the Labour manifesto, and even Labour Members frequently depart not only from the manifesto but increasingly from their pledge card. The essence of our job entails scrutiny of legislation and requires that all Members, even Labour Members, should devote their minds and their energy to considering the quality of legislation put before them in Committee. I have sat on Standing Committees and seen how rarely Labour Members do that.
All Members have that obligation.
The Government are prepared to ride roughshod over the rights of Members from all parties to perform that duty. In addition, I suspect that when we vote later this morning, Labour Members will simply accept this neutering of the role of Members of Parliament. Police morale is at rock bottom. Friend makes his point eloquently, and it will not be lost on members of police forces throughout the country that the Minister responsible for them is not prepared to allow parliamentary debate of matters relating to the police. The dismay of the Police Federation is mirrored not just by dismay but by cynicism and scepticism among the public, to which the Prime Minister has alluded.