Contributions
597 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I shall not speak for long. I was looking around the Room, trying to add up how many former local leaders there are, and I got to five or maybe six. We probably all had…11 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I will speak to Amendment 196C. For me, this is a really interesting group because it is quite wide: part of it is to do with wanting to enable local revenue raising and…09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I will speak to Amendment 121A on behalf of my noble friend Lord Blunkett who sends his apologies to the Committee this afternoon. He has a long-standing appointment…02 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I am rarely disappointed by the words of the Minister on matters relating to transport. I am delighted that he concedes that the Blunkett amendment is close to…02 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillOkay—I will sum up when he has.02 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillHas the Minister finished?02 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I have three amendments in this group, Amendments 120A to 120C. They are part of a theme that has been talked about before: the degree of devolution and centralisation…02 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I apologise for not being here a bit earlier and hearing more of the earlier debate and discussion about parish councils. My amendment seeks to include all parish…29 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I will withdraw my amendment. I think the noble Lord’s primary argument was about a potential lack of capacity at local level and the need to have proper oversight and…29 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill29 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I rather suspect that the noble Lord, Lord Bichard, and I are fishing in a similar pool here. My Amendment 196B is all about local accounting officers and is designed to…27 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, this has been an absolutely fascinating debate. It has made me think a lot about the history of local government and how it has changed over 150 or 160 years. There was…27 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, this group has a number of amendments in my name: Amendments 50A and 51B; Amendment 53A to Schedule 3; and Amendment 196A. There are two separate issues involved in…27 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill27 Jan 2026HANSARDTikTok: Bereaved British ParentsMy Lords, the Minister will be aware that Australia has already instituted a ban. I welcome the consultation that was announced last week. Will we look at Australia’s experience…27 Jan 2026HANSARDGrass-roots Music VenuesTo ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the 2025 Budget on grassroots music venues.26 Jan 2026HANSARDGrass-roots Music VenuesMy Lord, that is a very welcome response from the Minister, but I wonder what assessment His Majesty’s Government have made of forecasts that increased business rate valuations…26 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationDoes the Minister agree that there seems to be some form of collective amnesia on the Benches opposite? I well recall, as an employee of the Greater London Council, that the 1985…21 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I want to speak to the amendment from the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty. I became leader of Brighton council in 1987. One of the first things that we did was triple our…20 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I support these amendments. I am absolutely fascinated by this debate. For most of my life I have lived in a city, and most of my friends think I am a city slicker. The…20 Jan 2026