Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

My Lords, not a great deal has been left unsaid in the debate today. One thing is clear: very few voices have spoken in favour of the Bill. We do not doubt the good intentions of the Government in introducing these measures, but good intentions in themselves do not turn a bad Bill into a good Bill. We may legislate in haste, but we must repent at leisure. Short-term, hastily drafted legislation can do far more harm than good. The situation with which the Bill seems to tinker is more complicated, and far deeper. It needs much more thorough consideration of the whole change in the United Kingdom in recent years. We need a Royal Commission, at least, to consider the ethnic, national and cultural changes experienced. Now, the United Kingdom has always been in a state of change—and, historically, we have benefited from changes such as the influx of different people from other parts of the world. That human tapestry has enriched our society in so many ways, not only in the past few years but over many centuries. Most of us in this House welcome these people who make a society of different cultures and backgrounds. Some would suggest we should turn the clock back and try to reclaim a yesterday, but this is not possible. If everyone were repatriated, Britain would be a very empty island. Even the Celts, like myself, would feel threatened. The rate of change has accelerated, and the content of that change can be seen as a threat, a challenge or an opportunity. The Bill sees only the threat. It sees neither challenge nor opportunity. A country needs people who have confidence in it and are happy to say ““It’s my land, my country. It’s to where I belong””. Those who come to these islands have always been subject to the law of the United Kingdom. One thing we know: there can never be one law for one community, and a different law for another. As a Welshman, I think a great deal of the laws of Hywel Dda, but I would not dream of suggesting that I live by those laws. Other people are comfortable with Sharia laws. But there can only be one set of laws: that of this Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which every resident or visitor is subject. Only in that way will there be stability and confidence—and people feeling that they belong to this country. Similarly, so that people of all backgrounds have confidence when in the United Kingdom, we must uphold those international conventions that apply across the world—on human rights, on refugees, on torture, on trafficking, and on the rights of children. These must be part of our thinking and acting. We must not undermine our commitment to any of them. Let us be counted among the nations in which every person can have confidence. The old battle cry was ““no taxation without representation””. Today, in a United Kingdom of many faiths, should not those who frame the laws be representative of the whole community? Should we not, in considering any reform of Parliament, make sure there is a place here for people of new and different faiths? I am an old-fashioned Liberal. I remember when one of our policies was to disestablish the Church of England. In Wales, we managed that in 1920—for good or ill, I do not know, but it has changed there. Today, I would not call for any disestablishment—not least because I think the world of some of the Bishops among us—but also because we need not disestablishment but a way to embrace, to include and to establish, if you wish, other areas of faith. I hope that when we come to think of reforming this House other faiths can find their place here. The Bill does not touch any of these real problems—these earth-shattering changes of 30, 40 or 50 years. When the Bill was introduced earlier, the Minister was unable to answer our questions. It was a mystery that reminded me of the crowd of youngsters who climbed Snowdon, having been promised that they could see the whole panorama—and what a panorama we have in north Wales—even over to Ireland on a clear day. But when they reached the top of the mountain, it was mist-covered and they saw nothing. They missed the view—and viewed the mist. This Bill before us is all mist and little view. I hope we reject it.