Contributions
1,101 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI shall give way one more time.15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillIt will not surprise my right hon. Friend to hear that I completely agree with him. As ever, he makes an erudite point.15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillAs we have seen in the debate so far, there is a range of views on both sides of the House about how we should proceed with reform. The argument that I am making is that this…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillThe risk is taking away something that has formed part of the fabric of our constitution. The role of those two officeholders has been essential to the role of the Crown, and…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillThe Paymaster General knows how much I respect conventions, but that is ultimately a matter for the other Chamber.15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI will make some progress and then I will give way. In 1999, Baroness Jay, the then Leader of the House of Lords, said that a partly reformed Lords with only excepted hereditaries…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI am strongly of the view that we should consider all these things in the round. There is merit here—that is why we are proposing a reasoned amendment—but the risk of proceeding…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillWell—15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI gently say to the hon. Gentleman that the reforms were introduced in 1999. By my calculation, the Labour party was in power for another 11 years and did precisely nothing…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI will give way first to the hon. Member for Telford (Shaun Davies) and then to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell).15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI will make some progress and then I will give way. Instead of proceeding with caution, the Government have done precisely the opposite. The Bill has had no pre-legislative…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI will make some more progress and then I will give way. In 1999, the reforms recognised the challenge. In this July’s King’s Speech background brief, the Labour Government…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI will make some progress, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that I will give way. We should not be surprised that the Labour Government have only introduced this short Bill because…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillThe purpose of the 1999 compromise was to ensure that we did not remove hereditary peers without considering the wider consequences. That is precisely my concern with the approach…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillThe Labour party was in power for 11 years after the 1999 changes. It completely failed to undertake this reform, and that was for a reason. We have a delicate and complex…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI will give way in a moment. I shall prove my point. Before the election, Labour sources admitted that “we’re going to need to appoint a dozen peers on day one to do big junior…15 Oct 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI begin by welcoming the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to his position. I know that he will be supported by a brilliant team of civil servants who are truly dedicated to…25 Jul 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI welcome that answer and I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words. An effective strategy must be underpinned by dedicated resources, which is why one of my final acts…25 Jul 2024HANSARD CrowdStrike: IT OutageMay I begin by welcoming the hon. Lady to her role and thanking her for advance sight of the statement? In that role I know she will be supported by a dedicated team of civil…22 Jul 2024HANSARDNational Security and Investment Act: Statement for the Purposes of Section 3On 18 April I published the Government’s response to the national security and investment call for evidence, which sought feedback from stakeholders on how the Government can…21 May 2024