Contributions
152 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBank of England: Interest Rate PolicyMy Lords, would the Minister not agree that, although independence of the Bank of England is all right, what we need is competence? The Bank of England was more competent when it…12 Jul 2023HANSARDUK Economy: Growth, Inflation and ProductivityMy Lords, I thank my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, for introducing this debate. I recall that in June 2022—almost exactly a year ago—we had a similar debate on this…29 Jun 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillMy Lords, I am not a lawyer; I am an economist. When the most reverend Primate raised this question on 9 December last year, I spoke on this matter. It is not that there is any…24 May 2023HANSARDUK-EU Relationship in Financial Services (European Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, I used to belong to a committee which dealt with these financial matters before we Brexited. It was always obvious that, if we did Brexit, we would have some loss of…17 May 2023HANSARDCentral Bank Digital Currencies (Economic Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bridges, for the committee’s excellent report. Around the time it was issued, I wrote for the website of OMFIF, a think tank that I am…02 Feb 2023HANSARDUK Asylum and Refugee PolicyMy Lords, it is genuinely a pleasure to follow the noble Lord because I have always listened to him and, while I have never agreed with him, he studies the problem thoroughly and…09 Dec 2022HANSARDNet MigrationMy Lords, should we not recognise that the people who pay thousands of pounds to people to carry them across the channel actually want to come here? They find coming here…29 Nov 2022HANSARDHumanist MarriagesMy Lords, is the problem that the humanists are not religious? Every other religion has been treated kindly and LGBTQ marriages can take place. Just the humanists in England are…29 Nov 2022HANSARDAutumn Statement 2022My Lords, I shall speak in the gap. In July last, when Boris Johnson was still in power, I said in this House that things are going to get very bad and we will see a repetition of…29 Nov 2022HANSARDCOP 27: CommitmentsMy Lords, I thank my noble and right reverend friend Lord Harries for introducing this topic, and we have had a great maiden speech from the noble Lord, Lord Leong, whom I…24 Nov 2022HANSARDFinancial Markets: StabilityMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, for initiating this debate and the powers-that-be for holding it in the main Chamber and not shoving us off into the Moses Room. I…03 Nov 2022HANSARD50th Anniversary of the Expulsion of Asians from UgandaMy Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Popat, who is a friend, for introducing this debate. I did not speak in any earlier debate; I waited until the 50th anniversary because…27 Oct 2022HANSARDChinaMy Lords, the Chinese have a long memory. We have to cultivate the same sort of long memory; that will be one very important weapon if we are going to fight the Chinese. First,…14 Jul 2022HANSARDRestoration and RenewalMy Lords, when I was a schoolboy in India, we were told stories about the British Parliament. One of the stories, of course, was of how Guy Fawkes tried to blow the old…13 Jul 2022HANSARDUniversal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill [HL]My Lords, I support the right reverend Prelate’s nice, short Bill. In my five minutes, I shall talk about the history of why welfare states are always cruel to their claimants.…08 Jul 2022HANSARDClean Air (Human Rights) Bill [HL]My Lords, I join everyone else who has spoken in welcoming the Bill and congratulating the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, on introducing it. Since everything that is worth saying has…08 Jul 2022HANSARDCommonwealthMy Lords, let me concentrate on the problems and not the virtues of the Commonwealth because I have only five minutes. First, as was said by the noble Lord, Lord McDonald, and…30 Jun 2022HANSARDHigher Education (Freedom of Speech) BillMy Lords, I must apologise for going in and out of the Chamber while other noble Lords were speaking; I had not timetabled for all the business that happened between Oral…28 Jun 2022HANSARDUnited Kingdom: The UnionMy Lords, I too thank my noble friend Lord Lisvane for suggesting this topic. Going back to what I said earlier this afternoon and, again, talking about where I come from, India…23 Jun 2022HANSARDUnited Kingdom: The UnionI must confess that I am deaf, and the acoustics are absolutely terrible in here. I ask the noble Viscount if I can answer his question later on.23 Jun 2022