Identity Cards Bill

No, I will not; I want to deal first with Lord Strathclyde’s third point. He said that the House of Lords"should not proceed if there are issues to do with the Salisbury convention.””—[Official Report, House of Lords, 15 March 2006; Vol.679. c. 1244–45.]" That is a very important point and it is worth recalling what the position is. First, it is absolutely clear that the introduction of ID cards is a manifesto commitment that has been approved twice by the elected House. I remind Members of the view of the Salisbury convention taken in January 2000 by the royal commission on the reform of the House of Lords. It was chaired by Lord Wakeham, who is not a notable Government toady, except when the Conservatives were in government. Recommendation 7 of commission’s report states:"““The principles underlying the ‘Salisbury Convention’ remain valid and should be maintained. A version of the ‘mandate’ doctrine should continue to be observed; where the electorate has chosen a party to form a Government, the elements of that party’s general election manifesto should be respected by the second chamber. More generally””—"