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HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI am hesitant to interrupt the noble Baroness, but there is one hereditary Peer whom I do miss greatly, and that is the Countess of Mar. She would have jumped up many times and…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillCorrect, and you have just had six; you could have nominated hereditary Peers as life Peers. There was nothing stopping you—nothing. The important point is that we have had…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillCertainly I know that is the case, and we found that out the hard way in the past 14 years. But can I just say—and the noble Lord knows this—we are dealing with an imbalance at…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillAs I said, the Leader of the House and others have acknowledged that what we did in 1999 was remove the hereditary principle. As my noble friend Lord Grocott has said on a number…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI thought I had commented on it at the beginning. The simple fact is that the idea that you do not do anything until you do everything is not acceptable. It has not worked. We…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI do not mind being interrupted, but what is the point?01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI repeat: the Prime Minister of this country has made an offer. In terms of the new Peers that we have recently had introduced into this House, the Conservative Party was offered…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI was going to come to that point, but as the noble Lord gives me the opportunity, let me say that my noble friend the Leader has addressed that. She is working in consultation…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI say from the start that I know the noble Baroness, Lady Mobarik, and respect her. Certainly, I welcome her contributions to this House, and many times in debates we have been on…01 Apr 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceMy noble friend makes a very good point. The Home Office and the Government are absolutely committed to reducing those asylum and hotel costs in this country. Yesterday, it was…27 Mar 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceI am glad the noble Earl asked that question, because he needs to be reminded that we are in a different situation. We are in a generational change: the threat this country faces…27 Mar 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceMy noble friend makes a really good point. The demining projects are about increasing security, but they are also vital for economic growth and development. I have been to…27 Mar 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceIt is very difficult to give a direct answer; what I can say is that we are currently working through all programmes. We want to avoid a cliff-edge like that which, as the noble…27 Mar 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceI thank the noble and right reverend Lord. On his first question, importantly, the Foreign Secretary will lead a cross-departmental process to consider all the aid allocations. We…27 Mar 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceI come back to the point I made at the beginning, because I am absolutely passionate about this. When I visited African countries, they were concerned about ensuring that they…27 Mar 2025HANSARDOfficial Development AssistanceMy Lords, protecting our national security is the first duty of any Government. This difficult choice reflects the evolving nature of the threats we face and the strategic shifts…27 Mar 2025HANSARDUkraine: UK-USA DiscussionsI clearly have not had the opportunity to read the report yet, but I will: I do read those reports consistently. The noble Lord is absolutely right. In my response to the noble…26 Mar 2025HANSARDUkraine: UK-USA DiscussionsMy Lords, we share President Trump’s desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and remain in close touch with the US at every level. The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump…26 Mar 2025HANSARDUkraine: UK-USA DiscussionsI am not going to accept the noble Lord’s invitation. The simple fact is that the UK shares President Trump’s desire to bring this barbaric war to an end. Russia could do this…26 Mar 2025HANSARDUkraine: UK-USA DiscussionsI cannot report on a meeting that is going to take place tomorrow, but I understand what the noble Lord is saying. I think the Prime Minister has been absolutely consistent in…26 Mar 2025