Member

It is of course possible for the Government, given their majority in the House of Commons, to force this through by sheer pressure of numbers. By brute force, they can achieve their way. But this proposal for a constitutional conference from my noble friend Lord Hamilton—which would be limited to six months, so would not be a delaying tactic—would give the Government a serious and even elegant means of at least finding a route to discussion with the parties and the party leaders. Even if agreement was not reached within those six months, it would help to take some of the sting out of the sort of debate we are having at the moment and allow the House to continue in operation without excessive acrimony.