Contributions
1,161 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPension Schemes Bill [HL]It will be made clear—in practice, if anything—but the Secretary of State will reserve the power for the rarest of occasions, I imagine, in the circumstances that I outlined. The…24 Feb 2020HANSARDPension Schemes Bill [HL]My Lords, this is quite a large group of amendments, all having as their subject matter Clause 107. I want to do justice to them so I therefore hope the Committee will forgive me…24 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsThe noble Lord makes a very good point. Of course, there was a very considerable interval between the first devolution referendums at the end of the 1970s and the second ones in…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsMy Lords, the rules on referendums are set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, and the Government have no plans to review or change them. An Act of…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsWe are absolutely clear that we want to introduce that mechanism as quickly as we can. It will ensure greater transparency. As the noble Baroness said, it will make it clearer to…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsMy Lords, the call from this House was for the Prime Minister to clear the report for publication. It is not the function of the Government to publish; that is the function of the…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsThat is true, but we have never gone down that road in any of the subsequent referenda. There would be serious challenges in doing so. First, Parliament would need to decide what…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsMy Lords, we are very concerned and absolutely determined to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections. As I have said, we are doing that by addressing in…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsMy Lords, the first duty of government is to safeguard the nation, and we treat the security and integrity of our democratic processes extremely seriously. We have no evidence to…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsMy Lords, I look to debating my noble friend’s Bill when it comes before us for Second Reading. I think it would be premature for me to set out the Government’s position on the…12 Feb 2020HANSARDReferendumsMy Lords, I recognise the noble Lord’s consistent interest in this topic. However, Parliament would need to go down that kind of road with a good deal of care. This country has no…12 Feb 2020HANSARDExtension of Franchise (House of Lords) Bill [HL]My Lords, I would be glad to look at those passages in the Companion . I simply observe that they do not relate to our right to sit in this Parliament; they are much more about…07 Feb 2020HANSARDExtension of Franchise (House of Lords) Bill [HL]The noble and learned Lord has raised a very interesting constitutional point. It is so interesting that I think it is appropriate for me to write to him about it, and copy that…07 Feb 2020HANSARDExtension of Franchise (House of Lords) Bill [HL]My Lords, I hope my noble friend Lord Naseby will allow me to congratulate him on his success in the Private Members’ Bills ballot and on securing this opportunity to raise the…07 Feb 2020HANSARDData Science: Government ProcessesI am sure the noble Lord is aware of the Government’s policy on ID cards. We do not believe they are the answer to any of the problems that noble Lords and others have mentioned.04 Feb 2020HANSARDMedia and Lobby BriefingsThe noble Lord may be quite right. There probably was a lot of interest, but I say again that this briefing was to selected journalists. Other journalists had every opportunity…04 Feb 2020HANSARDMedia and Lobby BriefingsMy Lords, I come back to the point I made earlier. Briefings for selected journalists are regular occurrences across government, not just in No. 10, and they have been for many…04 Feb 2020HANSARDMedia and Lobby BriefingsAs I said, my Lords, this was a technical and specialist briefing for selected journalists. There is an opportunity, twice a day, for anyone with a Press Gallery pass to attend…04 Feb 2020HANSARDMedia and Lobby BriefingsI take great encouragement from that, and I shall certainly pass my noble friend’s observation on to my colleagues.04 Feb 2020HANSARDMedia and Lobby BriefingsIf that does become obvious, then of course it is noble Lords’ duty to bring it to the Government’s attention.04 Feb 2020