Contributions
879 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I apologise that I was unable to be here at the previous sittings—I had clashes of different obligations in the Lords last week. I want to pick up from what my noble…09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillHave the implications of the strategic defence review been taken into account in all this? Chapter 6 of the defence review talks about the need to mobilise a “whole-of-society…09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I apologise to the Committee that my noble friends Lady Bakewell and Lord Shipley have had to leave for another engagement, leaving me, a non-expert on climate change,…09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillThe noble Lord did not mention the questions of where the taxes are raised and who is responsible. For those of us on the Liberal Democrat Benches, the differences between…09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I have Amendment 187. There is a fair amount of agreement between myself and the noble Lord, Lord Gascoigne—on both sides of the Pennines—about the nature of the…09 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI am staggered at the thought of a parish council with a population over 50,000; it does not make sense to me. I am also staggered at the thought that, if we are talking about…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUS Department of Justice Release of FilesMy Lords, I note the Minister’s mention of the desperate need to re-establish political trust. I think all of us, on all Benches, need to understand how much Westminster politics…05 Feb 2026HANSARDThink Tanks: FundingMy Lords, I declare an interest: I used to work for the all-party think tank Chatham House, which always declares its donors, as all partisan or non-partisan think tanks should.…04 Feb 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I speak to Amendment 102. Before I start, I must tell the Minister that, when I went home from the last session of this Committee, I found my wife watching an old…29 Jan 2026HANSARDPublic Trust in National PoliticsTo ask His Majesty’s Government what proposals they are considering to reverse the decline in public trust of national politics in the UK.29 Jan 2026HANSARDPublic Trust in National PoliticsMy Lords, I and others are grateful for those small steps, but the size of the problem of public distrust of politics is enormous. Fewer than 60% of voters voted in the 2024…29 Jan 2026HANSARDUK-EU Customs UnionMy Lords, we have been hearing different versions of economic and political reality in this debate. I want to focus in my short speech on two issues that lie behind negotiating a…29 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, I have no interests to declare. Like the noble Lord, Lord Norton, I am an academic and am interested in clear language, among other things. I was horrified when I first…20 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, we on these Benches very much support the inclusion of this measure—above all because, if it is enlisted as one of the areas of competence, it will strengthen the…20 Jan 2026HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy Lords, we have been talking about public safety under Amendment 5. I want to check with the Minister how far the Bill is linked to some of the issues with which other…20 Jan 2026HANSARDPublic Inquiries: CostsMy Lords, there is a danger that public inquiries end up like the royal commissions of old: taking minutes, lasting years and losing public confidence. Is there not now a case for…19 Jan 2026HANSARDDefending Democracy TaskforceMy Lords, I understand why some of the investigations that the Defending Democracy Taskforce is undertaking have to be kept highly confidential, but if we are going to defend…12 Jan 2026HANSARDGreenlandMy Lords, I note the reference that the Minister made to increasing dangers in the seas around the United Kingdom. I also note that the Navy managed to provide a fleet auxiliary…08 Jan 2026HANSARDMuslim BrotherhoodMy Lords, I simply ask the Minister whether he feels that, under the current circumstances, we should be a little more cautious than usual about following the advice of President…05 Jan 2026