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2,386 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, with the leave of the House I shall now repeat a Statement made earlier in another place by my right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister. The Statement is as…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, I pay tribute to the persistence and courage of the noble Lord—I will call him my noble friend—Lord Alton in his long-standing witness against the brutalities that he…11 Sept 2023HANSARDBusiness of the HouseThat Standing Order 44 (No two stages of a Bill to be taken on one day) be dispensed with on Thursday 14 September to allow the Northern Ireland Budget (No. 2) Bill to be taken…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for giving advance notice. I am not sure how helpful that means I can be. Obviously, although I have the indescribable honour of being…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, the Prime Minister will have an opportunity to discuss the G20 Statement tomorrow, when I fear that your Lordships will suffer the pain of me answering again from this…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, I am not going to comment on press reports. It is unfortunate that I am not the most regular reader of the press—much to its annoyance. All I say in response to the…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, I am grateful for the general tone of the response. It is invidious to choose, but although I am grateful for the response of the noble Lord, Lord Newby, I am…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, the committee’s report is obviously of great significance and importance, and the Government regard it in that way. I have nothing to add to what I have said about…11 Sept 2023HANSARDSecurity UpdateMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I believe she will acknowledge that the action of Her Majesty’s Government, as it then was, in opening the door to so many…11 Sept 2023HANSARDBusiness of the HouseThat Standing Order 38(1) (Arrangement of the Order Paper) be dispensed with on Wednesday 6 September and Wednesday 13 September to enable Report stage of the Levelling-up and…05 Sept 2023HANSARDBusiness of the HouseMy Lords, I would not consider it to be chaos. In fact, I thank the usual channels, who have agreed to sit early to maximise scrutiny time on the levelling-up Bill. The aim is to…05 Sept 2023HANSARDBusiness of the HouseMy Lords, obviously, that is a matter for the House as a whole, and this probably is not an appropriate occasion to launch a major debate on it. Obviously, we sit earlier on a…05 Sept 2023HANSARDBusiness of the HouseThe noble Lord scoffs, but that is a reality, and this House benefits from the experience that noble Lords have in other walks of life. However, I would always be open to consider…05 Sept 2023HANSARDBusiness of the HouseMy Lords, I did not wish to make the point because I think that it sometimes appears as though I am reproving the House—which I am not; I am always open to the ear and will of the…05 Sept 2023HANSARDHouse Of Lords: Appointments SystemMy Lords, on the size of the House, since January 2022 it has in fact grown by four—plus seven net Conservatives and plus three net Labour. I understand that many noble Lords are…19 Jul 2023HANSARDHouse Of Lords: Appointments SystemMy Lords, my noble friend makes a very important point. I certainly will pass on that message, as indeed others that I have referred to. I think the whole House looks with the…19 Jul 2023HANSARDHouse Of Lords: Appointments SystemI very often agree with the noble Baroness, except I have never tweeted in my life, and I recommend her not to. The policy of the Green Party is to replace the system of…19 Jul 2023HANSARDHouse Of Lords: Appointments SystemThere are certain beneficiaries of the life peerage system who seem to disagree. We think that members of the House of Lords Appointments Commission do a good job and I have every…19 Jul 2023HANSARDHouse Of Lords: Appointments SystemI think the Government have other legislative priorities. The noble Lord knows how highly I esteem him. He is a bit like the elder Cato, who ended every speech in the Roman Senate…19 Jul 2023HANSARDHouse Of Lords: Appointments SystemMy Lords, I think the question of “disproportionate” was answered by Members of your Lordships’ House rather than me, so I will not add to the pain of those Benches. I think that…19 Jul 2023