Contributions
790 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCivil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL]My Lords, I shall speak to Amendments 60 to 62; I express a specific concern in my Amendment 62. I thought that I knew about the technology in this debate until I decided to brush…18 Jun 2026 · 2d agoHANSARDCivil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL]My Lords, I have Amendment 78 in this group. I shall only say a few words, and I suppose the very few words I could say are that, if we are to get new powers that may affect…18 Jun 2026 · 2d agoHANSARDCivil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL]I will go next because of the generality of the subject. I find myself in the peculiar position of agreeing with people for once. I, broadly speaking, share the general direction…16 Jun 2026 · 4d agoHANSARDFinancial Services and Markets Bill [HL]My Lords, for 14 years, I was the most junior opposition Treasury spokesman. A slight problem with that is I was occasionally—in fact, more than occasionally—the most senior…08 Jun 2026HANSARDCivil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL]My Lords, I have been a Back-Bencher for two years, and in that period I have rather assumed that I bored enough people during the previous 14 years, so I have not been making too…02 Jun 2026HANSARDRail Safety Recommendations: BacklogMy Lords, does the Minister accept that the key people in the creation of safety in the railways must be the operators? The operators must own safety on their railways, which has…28 Apr 2026HANSARDChina Espionage: Government Security ResponseMy Lords, referring to the failed case of activity by China, my understanding is that the timing of the alleged offences came under the ambit, if that is the right term, of the…18 Nov 2025HANSARDOpen Access Rail ServicesMy Lords, I spent 32 years of my career working in the public sector and came to understand that the objective was the needs of the customer, value for the taxpayer, protection of…22 Oct 2025HANSARDFinancial Services ReformMy Lords, any system of regulation consists of rules and administration. If you have good rules and bad administration, you will get bad regulation. Is my noble friend satisfied…23 Jul 2025HANSARDSteel IndustryMy Lords, I rise to totally support the Government and to congratulate them on their draft Bill. I think the actions of the Government have changed the tone of the debate. The…12 Apr 2025HANSARDGreat British RailwaysMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Young, for tabling this debate. Much of his involvement took place in the mid-1990s. At that time, he was my ultimate boss, and I became the…13 Mar 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillMy Lords, I find myself in an unusual situation, almost feeling that I am making a maiden speech. After 16 years on the Front Bench, being a freed-up Back-Bencher is a bit of a…04 Feb 2025HANSARDEconomic GrowthMy Lords, I shall not speak about the economy, because I am not an economist, but I have always believed that the economy should be the servant of society. The trick is to…23 Jan 2025HANSARDPassenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) BillMy Lords, I, too, welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, to her position in this interesting debate. She is smiling at me; that is good progress. The first question has to be…07 Oct 2024HANSARDMilitary Bases: AccommodationTo ask His Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the standard of accommodation at military bases.15 May 2024HANSARDNational Networks National Policy StatementMy Lords, I often end up in this situation, with four or five people in the Chamber battling through statutory instruments with the Minister. I do not know how I got into this…08 May 2024HANSARDNuclear Test Veterans: SupportMy Lords, is this not an example of the malaise that we have in the handling of veterans? Veterans are unhappy and we are in a bad situation with both recruitment and retention.…02 May 2024HANSARDGoods Vehicles (International Road Transport Permits and Haulage Within the EU) Regulations 2024My Lords, I also thank the Minister for his presentation of this SI. He added a certain overview, which is useful. I found myself in a difficult situation with this SI, both…18 Apr 2024HANSARDRenewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Amendment) Order 2024My Lords, I thank the Minister for his presentation of this statutory instrument. It is not an instrument that I have got on with very well. I decided to try to understand it, and…26 Mar 2024HANSARDSingle Source Contract (Amendment) Regulations 2024I rise with a heavy burden because I was the party spokesman in 2014 when this document was created. If you think that this document is a problem, you should compare it to the…19 Mar 2024