Contributions
2,386 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHereditary Peers: By-electionsI am certainly not going to comment on my sense of humour. What I would say is that I always take your Lordships’ House seriously. If that is mistaken for not having a sense of…10 Nov 2021HANSARDHereditary Peers: By-electionsMy Lords, I believe that I have answered the last question from the noble Baroness. People get here in many ways, the majority by patronage through nomination by one individual…10 Nov 2021HANSARDHereditary Peers: By-electionsMy Lords, I regret that I do not agree with my noble friend. He will know that the position of the Government is that we do not favour piecemeal reform and that overall reform…10 Nov 2021HANSARDHereditary Peers: By-electionsMy Lords, my noble friend puts forward an interesting suggestion. Some would say that what was proposed in 1999 worked well at the time, but I repeat that the Government believe…10 Nov 2021HANSARDHereditary Peers: By-electionsMy Lords, I will not be tempted too far down that road or some people might resuscitate some of the things that I said 10 years ago about your Lordships’ House and its…10 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, the Ministerial Code is the responsibility of the Prime Minister of the day and is customarily updated and issued upon their assuming or returning to office. Any…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, of course. Again, I do not agree with the political comment at the outset. The Government will carefully consider comments made by parliamentarians in both Houses, as…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeI agree with my noble friend, but I will continue my policy of not throwing political stones—we all know that they exist. The Prime Minister is accountable to the electorate, as…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, I do not agree with the noble Lord’s more general observations. I agreed with Mr Speaker in the other place yesterday that we should speak softly on these matters. The…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, I have partly answered that, in saying that the Government are obviously considering all the very important and thoughtful reports that have been presented on these…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, I would never characterise Her Majesty’s Opposition as wolves, but my noble friend makes a point of great importance. We should all reflect that the overwhelming…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, I do not comment on the other place, but I refer noble Lords to the observations made by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, I have explained the constitutional position. So far as the Prime Minister’s movements are concerned, I am thankfully not responsible for them, but he was on a…09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right to say that the background, provisions and guidance have changed and evolved over time, and they will continue to evolve.09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeNo, my Lords.09 Nov 2021HANSARDMinisterial CodeMy Lords, with nine seconds left, I deliberately gave rather a short answer to my noble friend to enable the noble Lord, who I very greatly admire, to make his point. I wish it…09 Nov 2021HANSARDIntegrity of Electoral ProcessesMy Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to wind up in this debate. I shall try to watch the right clock this time. I, of course, begin, as every noble Lord who has spoken has…21 Oct 2021HANSARDDevolved AdministrationsI thank the noble Lord, as always, for his constructive question. At the Covid recovery meeting in June, which the Prime Minister instigated, all present agreed to finalise the…16 Sept 2021HANSARDDevolved AdministrationsMy Lords, the United Kingdom Government are ready to act in line with the new arrangements of the joint review of intergovernmental relations, which establishes an up-to-date and…16 Sept 2021HANSARDDevolved AdministrationsNo, my Lords, I do not agree, and I do not believe we should accentuate divisions within our United Kingdom. We are working with the devolved Administrations to develop an…16 Sept 2021