Contributions
397 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, this is a group of interesting and different amendments. Nobody could fail to be moved by the way that the noble Lord, Lord Bird, speaks to us, or to understand and feel…20 Jul 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, in speaking to this group of amendments I echo the comments from the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, regarding the loss of the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, from the Front Bench.…20 Jul 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, in winding for these Benches on these amendments, I start by saying that I do not intend to give long speeches opposing amendments we do not agree with; I believe that…20 Jul 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]I am not sure that it is quite as big, difficult and dramatic as that—we just did it. We believe that the priority must be more social housing. We believe in better protections…20 Jul 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, the joys of following the noble Lords, Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Fuller; I will be less hyperbolic but sincere and completely agree with what has been said. The…20 Jul 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, I am very disappointed to say that we oppose Amendments 77 and 78, but those who heard my comments in Committee will not be surprised. I totally agree with the noble…20 Jul 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]I thought the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, might like to speak first to tell us about his amendments so that we could respond, but I will go first. While they are all on the same…20 Jul 2026HANSARDPATHWAYS Study: Puberty SuppressionMy Lords, in my pre-political life I was a senior teacher at a very large comprehensive school, and responsible for child protection and what used to be called pastoral care. I…24 Jun 2026HANSARDHome Ownership: First-time BuyersMy Lords, shared ownership promised a real lifeline for first-time buyers to get them on to the property ladder, yet soaring service charges, crushing maintenance bills and toxic…22 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, I open this group—which is a considerably better position than we were in on Monday, when I thought I would be closing it—by proposing Amendment 53. This group goes to…17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, I acknowledge the cogent contribution from the noble Lord, Lord Evans. It was his first contribution, but I hope it will be the first of many, and I mean that sincerely.…17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, I was busy trying to think of counterarguments; the noble Lord, Lord Young, has caught me there. We feel that what unites these amendments is an attempt to drag social…17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]I thank the Minister for her response, which was very much as I would have predicted. My main point to make to her was that it was not easy to find that data—on GOV.UK you have to…17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My noble friends have outlined their cases themselves, so I will just clutch my pearls and resist having a ding-dong with the noble Lord, Lord Jackson—which I could, for reasons…17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, because the noble Lords, Lord Jamieson and Lord Young of Cookham, have done such a brilliant job of talking about shared ownership, I will scrap most of my speech. We on…17 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, it is good to kick off our first day in Committee on this important Bill. As noble Lords will know from our comments and speeches at Second Reading, we broadly support…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]I have just a few words on this group. First of all, I failed to observe the social niceties and would like to say that I am pleased that I have already had conversations and…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]I will stick to my words at the beginning and be as brief as possible and to the point. If the aim is to preserve existing stock, clearly this is a lever you have to pull. We…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Housing Bill [HL]My Lords, indeed I agree that my noble friend Lady Pinnock has given us a very good start, and she was quite passionate in what she was saying. I did tell her there would be a…15 Jun 2026