It does create an interesting visual image, doesn't it?
The secondary question is, having established it, how do you then divide it so that you don't get some kind of unintended consequence where the separating causes each of the two bills to be non-functional unless the other was also passed, that kind of thing?
I don't know how you would do the second part. That's more technically complex, but the first one is problematic in principle. How do you actually give the Speaker that power? Everybody here, at one point or another, has quoted the famous words of the Speaker to King Charles I, “I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak”—I'm not getting it quite right—“except as directed by the Commons whose voice or instrument I am.”
The whole legitimacy of the Speaker comes from the fact that he is simply acting on the will of the Commons. In this case, how you convey that in the context of a majority government that has introduced an omnibus bill is something I just can't sort out.
This election promise is one of two election promises that were absolutely clearly stated: “We will change the Standing Orders to achieve this.” I've had several weeks to think about this. How does one action this? If I were given the job just to draft this up, I don't know how I would do it. I'm trying to figure that out.