Contributions
126 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) BillMy Lords, many moons ago I was a staff writer on the Financial Times and occasionally involved in writing leaders. Those of us who wrote leaders for national newspapers were well…29 Jan 2024HANSARDAutumn Statement 2023My Lords, viewed from the position of strict Treasury orthodoxy, this was a highly intelligent Autumn Statement. Indeed, the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court, who spoke…29 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationMy Lords, has the Minister seen the suggestion of Lord Sumption that the Rwanda scheme would be more acceptable if more of the assessment were done by British officials rather…20 Nov 2023HANSARDKing’s SpeechMy Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Gascoigne on his maiden speech. He and I come from the Ribble Valley; he will know, as I do, that they speak a lot of common sense in…13 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillThis is an important initiative from the most reverend Primate on this subject, for two reasons. First, as the noble Lord, Lord Alton, just said, it is truly an international…05 Jul 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillMy Lords, some extreme language was used throughout Second Reading and Committee and there was very strong emotion. I understand that, because the Bill evokes strong feelings, but…28 Jun 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillMy Lords, as an economist I am aware of the fallibility of economic forecasts. The Governor of the Bank of England had to admit recently that the forecast for the inflationary…05 Jun 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillNo, I am just saying that if the amendment were accepted, it would be entirely inimical to the purpose of the Bill.05 Jun 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillMy Lords, before we move on to the interesting dinnertime discussion, I just want to raise a point as a non-lawyer about Amendment 20, in the names of the noble and learned Lord,…05 Jun 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillMy Lords, I want to comment on the speech made by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford just now. She made a very important point which the Committee should take…24 May 2023HANSARDIllegal Migration BillMy Lords, it is always a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury. He is a fellow Lancastrian and we always talk common sense, so I think what he said is…10 May 2023HANSARDBudget StatementMy Lords, I certainly agree with the noble Lord in his disappointment about universal credit. That is one of the achievements of the last period of Conservative government. The…16 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, I am delighted, as we all are, that my noble friend Lord Heseltine decided to speak in this debate; and he did not disappoint. I can tell him that in Liverpool he does…17 Jan 2023HANSARDUK Asylum and Refugee PolicyMy Lords, I am always amazed by the simple fact that, when I was born 83 years ago at the beginning of the Second World War, there were 2 billion people in the world and now there…09 Dec 2022HANSARDAutumn Statement 2022One of the good things about the financial Statement was its brevity. The documents accompanying it were about one-third the length of those that normally accompany a Budget…29 Nov 2022HANSARDPublic Order BillThe Bill addresses this point, but we could spend for ever on that. None the less, I understand that the Bill is designed to bring clarity to the issue of whether a police officer…16 Nov 2022HANSARDPublic Order BillMy Lords, I shall follow up on precisely the point that the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, has just made about whether we are wasting our time on something which we should not really…16 Nov 2022HANSARDPublic Order BillMy Lords, I do not normally speak in debates on police Bills and bring no particular knowledge or background to this debate. However, I want to say a few words because I am aware,…01 Nov 2022HANSARDStatement of Changes in Immigration RulesI have some sympathy with the comments of the noble Baroness on the subject of people overstaying and on the right to remain here. In particular, she made the point that, very…19 Oct 2022HANSARDStatement of Changes in Immigration RulesThe noble Lord says that that is an effective deterrent, but, with respect, it would have to be tested in reality, just as the Government’s measures are being tested in reality—or…19 Oct 2022