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107 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland Protocol: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (European Affairs Committee Sub-Committee Report)I rise, as so many other noble Lords have done, to praise the work of the noble Lord, Lord Jay, and his committee. I have attended several of the public sessions and have given…20 Jan 2023HANSARDNorthern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) BillMy Lords, I support the Bill and, like the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Weir. This is the first time I have had the pleasure of welcoming a former…05 Dec 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillMy Lords, I want to say some words in favour of this Bill. One might assume that we had a situation at present that was viable. I very much sympathise with the noble Baroness,…23 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI absolutely take the point the noble Lord is making, but some polling suggests that significant groups on both sides of the community do want to draw a line under this dispute,…23 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillIt is no more inaccurate than any other headline that I have seen. I accept that it is a complex ruling. However, the Northern Ireland police force issued a statement after the…23 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, for introducing the amendment; much that she said is extremely pertinent. It is useful at this point to remind the Committee of…07 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, for this amendment. She knows from many discussions and from what I have said in this House that, despite the distinguished legal…07 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for introducing these amendments and for the focus on food and agriculture for the first time in our discussions. I understand the reasons behind…02 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, has again referred to the issues raised in the eloquent letter read out by the noble Lord, Lord Browne. First, I want to say something…02 Nov 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I rise to put a technical point. I am not sure of the answer—it is a genuine question—but it bears on the amendment. Trade is a reserved matter in Northern Ireland. When…31 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillIf I may intervene briefly, I have tried to explain that I had an intense relationship with Article 16 when it was deeply unfashionable in this House. Many times in the last year,…31 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I will comment again briefly. I have said on the Floor of this House during these debates that I did not consider it necessary to reopen the mandate. If the EU can…31 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I am well aware of the sensitivity in this House regarding Henry VIII powers, and I respect that; it is a serious argument. However, Northern Ireland looks at these…31 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I rise to comment on the nature of the Bill, which has now taken on gargantuan proportions. It is a raging beast running through our constitutional rights and liberties.…31 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, very briefly, I have been trying to say that the legal advice is a little more complicated and nuanced. I am not claiming, for example, that any prominent international…25 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillIt is a little more than just “a need to”, which is definitely there. I can see perfectly clearly that the noble Lord is not familiar with Article 1(5), to which I referred, which…25 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI thank the noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan, very much for that question. The short answer is that I agree with her. We have a new Prime Minister, which begs the occasion for looking…25 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy Lords, I rise to speak with some trepidation as, apart from the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, this has been a convention of like-minded people, as the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, put…25 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI thank the noble Baroness for her intervention. Of course I take the point, but I was saying that nationalist Ireland basically does not like this Bill. That is not the point.…25 Oct 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillThe noble Lord has a point—but not as deep a point as he might imagine, because the Government have been consistent in saying that the primacy of the Good Friday agreement is the…25 Oct 2022