Contributions
307 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, I am extremely grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. It is normally the case that at this point, one says that it has been an extremely interesting…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillIf we had succeeded with the Clegg Bill and I had been summarily evicted from your Lordships’ House, nothing would have given me greater pleasure than to knock on doors across…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, I thought that the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, had summed up the situation at the end of Committee very well when he said that there was a broad agreement across the…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, this is the main argument that has been used consistently by people who do not want this place elected. It is based on a false premise, which is that, if both Houses are…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, I am explaining to the House what I thought at the time, not what anybody else might think. The noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, said that the system of by-elections should…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, we on these Benches have argued consistently for a written constitution, which has been opposed by the rest of the political establishment. We would definitely support a…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillOf course, that would be debated as part of that process; I accept that. If I could proceed, I was saying that I believe that, under our proposals, people should be elected on a…02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI am not sure the noble Lord is right about that. We do not have a written constitution now, but we have conventions that enable us to deal with difference—02 Jul 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, will not be surprised that I do not agree with this amendment, for the reasons so pithily put by the noble Lord, Lord Pannick. There are…02 Jul 2025HANSARDG7 and NATO SummitsMy Lords, the Statement improbably begins by discussing the Government’s woes on social security, which of course have absolutely nothing to do with its real subject matter. We…01 Jul 2025HANSARDPalace of Westminster: Restoration and RenewalMy Lords, can the noble Lord confirm that the cost of delay in taking a decision on getting started is running at £700 million a year, and that we really need to get a definitive…25 Jun 2025HANSARDUK-EU SummitMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for repeating yesterday’s Statement. I begin by associating these Benches with the sentiments expressed in the Statement on Gaza. Recent…21 May 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillNo.01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, this group and the next group of amendments all seek to either defer the implementation of the Bill or to set conditions on its implementation. The reason for that…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, I disagree with all these amendments because I believe they are based on a misconception that the change we are discussing is a fundamental change. It is not; it is a…01 Apr 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords—25 Mar 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, I very strongly agree with much of what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope, said, particularly his last comment. As long as we have independent Cross-Bench Peers in…25 Mar 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI say that much as I respect the noble Lord, Lord Birt. That just demonstrates the problem of specifying individual placeholders who should get a place in this Chamber. Thirdly,…25 Mar 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, whether or not one agrees with the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, that many of the issues we have been debating should not have been debated—I think with every passing hour,…25 Mar 2025