Contributions
126 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, I say to the Leader that I should like to reserve the right to table the amendment again on Report.25 Mar 2025HANSARDSustainable Farming IncentiveMy Lords, I declare my agricultural interests as in the register. My noble friend Lady Batters very much wanted to be here this evening, but as a working farmer she is having to…18 Mar 2025HANSARDHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy Lords, it is not a comfortable sensation for a hereditary Peer to be speaking in this debate. As I have said before, it is a great privilege to have performed a public service…11 Dec 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I am honoured to be the first person to speak at the Report stage of this very good Bill. As I have said, I realise that this is not Second Reading, but I repeat my…20 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I am still certain in my own mind that the environmental voice needs to be louder in decision-making in this industry in future. I was considerably reassured by the…20 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]I speak to Amendment 41 in my name. It makes a simple point that I hope will find sympathy with the Minister and other Members. I well remember, as other Members may, that during…20 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]20 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, Amendment 45, the related Amendment 47 in my name and, in a sense, the intervening Amendment 46 from the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, all seek in essence the same…20 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank the Minister for that explanation. The point of Amendment 45 was only that I was advised by the Public Bill Office that I had to table it to make Amendment 47…20 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]20 Nov 2024HANSARDHouse of Lords ReformMy Lords, I thank the Leader of the House for proposing this debate. From the debate, it is quite clear that many in this House desire to reform the House of Lords, particularly…12 Nov 2024HANSARDAutumn Budget 2024My Lords, I declare my agricultural interests as detailed in the register. My concern about the Budget is the effect it will have on small businesses and small farmers. The Budget…11 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, Amendment 51 in my name has been put in this group even though it relates to a different clause. Clause 3 deals with emergency overflows and seeks to define an emergency…30 Oct 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I support some of the detail in Amendments 30, 31 and 32—I have added my name to Amendment 32. Amendment 30 makes a very good point and I would be surprised if the…30 Oct 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]As the noble Baroness sits down, I must say that I did not find her arguments for not accepting a duty to implement to be very convincing. I therefore wonder if she would at least…30 Oct 2024HANSARDIndependent Water CommissionMy Lords, I said yesterday in Committee on the Water Bill that I very much welcome this review and congratulate the Government on having instituted it. Perhaps I could probe the…29 Oct 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 21 and 23 in my name. In effect, they both seek to amend new subsection (6) on page 2. The main point of my amendment is that I believe it…28 Oct 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, first, I congratulate the Government on having set up, last week, the review under Sir Jon Cunliffe. That is an excellent move by the Government; a very respected…28 Oct 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I support Amendment 18 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Remnant, which simply deletes new subsection (5)(c) on page 2. It seems to me that we cannot allow the…28 Oct 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, I welcome the Bill. It demonstrates a much greater determination by the new Government to tackle the continuing and barely reducing problem of pollution of our rivers,…09 Oct 2024