OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE

(RETIREMENT)

The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Michael Foot

I beg to move,

That this House, conscious of the ever increasing range and complexity of its work and of the burden this places on its officers and staff, records it gratitude for the devoted service of Sir David Lidderdale, Clerk of the House; Sir Alexander Gordon Lennox, Serjeant at Arms; and Mr. David Holland, Librarian; and extends to them its best wishes for their retirement.

It is not often that a motion appears on the Order Paper which has to it not only the names of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition but the name of myself. We are following the custom and tradition of formally paying tribute to servants of the House on their retirement.

Not only has Sir David Lidderdale been Clerk of the House for a number of years but he has served in the House since 1934. Among the many distinguished services which he has performed has been that of editing the Nineteenth Edition of “Erskine May” . Not only did that edition break all records in terms of the cost of the publication but it embraced all the problems which arise from our entry to the European Economic Community. That is only one of the services which Sir David has performed for the House. I am sure that right hon. and hon. Members will wish to pass the motion in gratitude to him.

Mr. David Holland joined the Library staff in 1946. He became Librarian in 1967. Hon. Members recognise that the service that the Library provides to hon. Members has been greatly extended, and the Librarian has played a leading part in ensuring that it has been highly beneficial to hon. Members.

Sir Alexander Gordon Lennox has been Serjeant at Arms in this House since 1962. I am sure that hon. Members were sad that he had to retire early because of illness. They will be glad to know that he is out of hospital and off to Scotland for a holiday. I am sure that we wish him every success in his retirement.

Perhaps I might conclude by saying, not only in respect of these three distinguished servants of the House but in [column 2237]respect of all the others who serve us in this House, that the servants of the House perform their services not merely for Government or Opposition Front Benchers, because it is Back Benchers more than anyone who are dependent on the services of the Clerk and his assistants and of the other servants of the House—the Librarian and the staff of the Library in particular. One of the reasons why the House of Commons is able to sustain the best of its traditions is that the Clerks of this House and all those who come into the Clerk's Department enable Members, very soon after their arrival here, to discover that they have at their disposal a unique contribution to our whole system of democracy.

I believe, therefore, that the whole House will join in wishing to pass this motion.

Mrs. Margaret Thatcher (Finchley)

This is one of those rare occasions when I can say to Michael Footthe Leader of the House that I heartily concur in all that he has said. On behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends, I join him in supporting this motion. My hon. Friend the Member for Antrim, South (Mr. Molyneaux) has asked me to say that he, too, wishes to be warmly associated with it. He is in fact present, but he does not wish to delay the House by making a separate contribution of his own.

The Leader of the House has said most of what could be said about Sir David Lidderdalethe Clerk of the House, Sir Alexander Gordon Lennoxthe Serjeant at Arms and David Hollandthe Librarian. However, perhaps I might add one or two comments of my own.

The Clerk of the House has been most generous in his advice to the Opposition, which is quite right, because his services are to the House rather than to the Government of the day. He has always given us very freely of his advice, and he has had a particularly difficult time in the past year when in some ways we have been adding footnotes to his edition of “Erskine May” at a rather more rapid rate than usual. I know, too, that he will wish us especially to make mention of the Report made by the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Mr. Bottomley), to which he made a particularly notable contribution. He and [column 2238]his Department have also warmly supported the activities of the CPA and of the IPU.

I want also to say how very grateful we are to Sir Alexander Gordon Lennox for the tremendous improvements which have been brought about during his period of office in the facilities of Members of the House. Some may still grumble that they are not very good, but they are very much better than when he first assumed office. Although we have had recent complaints about the telephone system, it is a very much better one than when he first took over. He has also had a very difficult time with the additional security precautions which we all have to take these days, yet he has been able to carry these out and still keep the greatly prized accessibility to the public of this House.

To Mr. David Holland, the Librarian, I say a special warm word of thanks, especially from Opposition Members who do not have quite as many facilities as Government supporters. We have one of the best library and research services now available in the whole country. The courtesy of the staff, and the speed with which they meet our requests are very notable. We would like to pay a warm tribute to them.

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things in life is to do work extremely well and yet be taken for granted. The Officers of the House are often taken for granted, and we do not thank them enough for everything they do to keep the wheels of democracy going. Therefore, we feel strongly that we should just turn aside for one moment from the legislative machine to say “Thank you” to them for all that they have done while they have been with us.

We hope that we shall see them again from time to time because I am sure that this place is such a fascination and magnet that they will wish to visit us occasionally to see how we are getting on. We wish them very well in their retirement.

Mr. David Steel (Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles)

I do not think that this is an occasion when we need have a long series of formal speeches. However, there are not many occasions on which the Leader of the Liberal Party can [column 2239]claim that the Lord President and the Leader of the Opposition have said everything for him, and more adequately than he could say it. On this occasion I am happy to join the Government and Opposition in saying on behalf of my colleagues in the Liberal Party, and, I suspect, on behalf of the other minority parties of this House as well, how much we wish to place on record our thanks for those services which have been rendered by these three distinguished servants of the House.

Although the Leader of the House was quite right, I consider that the Government and the official Opposition are very capable of looking after themselves. In my experience of the House of Commons, those of us who are outside those ranks are in a sense most appreciative of the services that the staff are able to render to Back Benchers in all parts of the House.

If I may add one personal note. Sandy Gordon Lennox started a custom a few years ago as a result of which he acted in subsequent years as host to the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on his visit to London. It has become a charming custom. The successor Moderator stayed at the Serjeant at Arms' residence in this House. Indeed, my father occupied that position a year ago and spoke warmly of the hospitality extended to him within the Palace of Westminster. They will miss him. I believe that they have paid their own tribute to our former Serjeant at Arms.

I would simply add that we in the Liberal Party also appreciate the work [column 2240]of all Officers of the House in the Library, the Clerk's Department, the Serjeant at Arms' Department and the rest. I am sure that the Leader of the Opposition was right to say that very often we tend to take them for granted. It is fitting, as we are close to the Summer Recess, that we pay a tribute to them all.

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bryant Godman Irvine)

Mr. Speaker has asked me to read the following statement:

“The Deputy Speakers and I wish to associate ourselves wholeheartedly with this motion. No formula can measure the debt this House owes to those who give it their unstinted and loyal service. It is no exaggeration to say that this House functions as well as it does only because we are able to rely on those who uncomplainingly tolerate hours of service that few, if any, other people are called upon to endure.

Sir David Lidderdale, Sir Alexander Gordon Lennox and Mr. David Holland have retired from the service of the House after long years of distinguished and honourable service.

Those of us whose responsibility it is to preside over the House owe each of them a special measure of gratitude and we wish them every blessing in their retirement.—George Thomas.”

Question put and agreed to, nemine contradicente.

Resolved,

That this House, conscious of the ever increasing range and complexity of its work and of the burden this places on its officers and staff, records its gratitude for the devoted service of Sir David Lidderdale, Clerk of the House; Sir Alexander Gordon Lennox, Serjeant at Arms; and Mr. David Holland, Librarian; and extends to them its best wishes for their retirement.