Contributions
313 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillThe noble Baroness talks about the burden of proof. In the three examples I gave, proof is not available. I can understand the intent and the well-meaning behind Amendment 61, but…07 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillI have not canvassed student groups, but I know the example of my own family—my daughters went to Oxford and Newcastle—and the strictures that were placed on them. So I am talking…07 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, once again I declare my interest, in that I am a landlord. I support Amendment 53A most strongly, but I wonder if I might dwell on the point made by the noble Baroness,…07 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, I rise briefly to try to understand what the definition of rent is if we are going to control rents or somehow curtail them or attenuate the increases. One can see the…01 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, I declare once more my interest as a landlord who rents properties, often to students. Your Lordships will be delighted to know that I will not be jumping up and down on…01 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, I shall speak strongly in favour of Amendment 1. I declare my interests as I rent properties in Norwich and commercial properties in Great Yarmouth through a…01 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, it feels as if we are going back to Amendment 1 at the start of this debate and the theme of that essential freedom to contract between consenting parties, which had…01 Jul 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillIt is quite straightforward that we know who students are. The universities issue certificates and those certificates are handed to the local authority in the case of council tax,…01 Jul 2025HANSARDUK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos ArchipelagoMy Lords, I am delighted to have listened to the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis, give an absolutely wonderful oration and to demonstrate how the one-in, one-out…30 Jun 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure BillMy Lords, I speak today as someone who has led a council for 20 years. I have sat on more planning committees than I care to remember. I have been accountable for three local…25 Jun 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure BillWill the Minister accept that in many of the cases where permissions are granted, pre-commencement conditions are not yet met and that is the reason these permissions are not…25 Jun 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights BillMy Lords, I rise to support Amendment 262 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, and others, because I want to talk about a simple economic truth. One of the provisions in…16 Jun 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights BillMy Lords, I support this amendment, but not for the reasons my noble friend gave. Many years ago—Members on the Government Benches may realise quite how long ago this is when I…16 Jun 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights BillMy Lords, this nation must earn its place in the world, and, regrettably, we are losing to some of our industrial competitors, particularly in energy-intensive industries such as…16 Jun 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights BillOr the most vulnerable.21 May 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights BillMy Lords, I shall speak to Amendments 104, 105, 106 and 107, but particularly Amendments 107A and 108, relating to day-one rights. Getting into work helps people make the best of…21 May 2025HANSARDAgriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2025My Lords, I add my name to those regretting these reckless regulations. I am particularly saddened, because they are just one element of a multipronged attack on our farmers, the…30 Apr 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, I declare my interest in a family business that rents properties in Norwich in some small way to students. I suppose I ought to declare that I have been a student in…22 Apr 2025HANSARDFarming and Rural CommunitiesMy Lords, in just six months Labour has morphed from casual indifference towards the farmers who grow the barley—for our noble friend Lord Bilimoria—and the communities who act as…03 Apr 2025HANSARDNet-zero Emissions Target: AffordabilityMy Lords, several months ago, as a new Member of your Lordships’ House, I made a proposal for a special investigation committee to try to get consensus around the various numbers…03 Apr 2025