Queen’s Speech

My Lords, this has been quite a long debate—although slightly shorter than I thought it would be at the beginning—about an eclectic group of subjects. The most optimistic speech was from the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, about the equality Bill. Equality is an area I believe in, obviously—at least I hope that is obvious—but not one that I often participate in when it comes to the legislative process, so this was a great opportunity to hear more about the Bill and the optimism around it as well as practical examples of how communities and different faiths and beliefs can be brought together. That was excellent. I was also pleased to hear the contribution from the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark. I look forward to those fantastic female priests out in the country joining us on the Benches as bishops before the House is reformed, but we will see—that is not up to us so much. I was slightly surprised that only two Conservative Back-Benchers contributed to the debate today.