Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

My Lords, the negotiations went on throughout the course of the Bill. I was around at the time. I am so sorry; the noble Lord, Lord Steel, may wish to confuse himself like this, but it just simply is not true. This was an honourable meeting between parties to try and work out a way to get the Bill through in the best possible way and in the most reasonable time. Let me continue: ""Let me attempt to explain its rationale. We have always intended a stage two reform to a reformed upper House. Others questioned our genuineness. Although I know as well as anyone the honesty and firmness of our intention, I was not offended by those who claimed to perceive a risk that removal of the hereditaries might prove to be the only reform to take place. All who have assented to this compromise would justify it in their own ways, but I believe what it comes to is the following … a compromise in these terms would guarantee that stage two would take place, because the Government with their great popular majority and their manifesto pledge would not tolerate 10 per cent. of the hereditary peerage remaining for long. But the 10 per cent. will go only when stage two has taken place. So it is a guarantee that it will take place ... to insist on fulfilling a manifesto pledge by one step, not two, would bring down the curtain unceremoniously on the whole of the hereditary peerage, many of whom, and whose forebears, have given so much to this House and to public life. The compromise will enable the elected 75 to participate in our counsels and to vote as the stage two plans are developed and ""debated. It will allow those who do not stand, or who are not elected, to depart with dignity, not querulously, and without rancour".—[Official Report, 30/3/99; cols 207-8.]" If anyone would suggest that the passage of time can release a Government from such obligations, let me say this: it is not the fault of your Lordships’ House that, once the Act was on the statute book, no further effective steps toward stage two of reform took place. It was entirely due to the inaction of the Government and to no one else. It is my belief that once they got rid of the hereditary Peers they lost interest in your Lordships and set their sights on other things such as wrecking the judiciary and bringing another place into the 21st century. Be that as it may, the Royal Commission, chaired by my noble friend Lord Wakeham, which had been running in parallel with the Bill itself, reported by the end of December 1999. This was to have been followed as soon as may be by a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament which was to have provided a sort of committee stage to the Wakeham report. This was put off and put off again until, in September 2001, it was announced by the then Leader of this House, the late Lord Williams of Mostyn, that it would be dropped altogether. This in itself was a breach of an undertaking. I came down overnight from Scotland to remonstrate with Lord Williams. He saw me with his invariable charm and courtesy, and gave me a good three-quarters of an hour but he was adamant. I warned him that the whole idea could go cold and lose momentum if it was dropped then—and how right I was proved to be. Finally, the Government had no option but to reincarnate the Joint Committee, which reported on 4 February 2003 with the now infamous list of options: all elected; all appointed; 80:20; 20:80; 60:40; 40:60; and 50:50. This had the equally infamous result that Members of another place voted down the whole lot of them. It took that great man Robin Cook, who was Leader of the House at the time, to contribute the panegyric, ""We should go home and sleep on this interesting position. That is the most sensible thing that anyone can say in the circumstances. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the next stage in the process is for the Joint Committee to consider the votes in both Houses. Heaven help the members of the Committee".—[Official Report, Commons, 4/2/03; col. 243.]" I end by repeating just one of the noble and learned Lord’s Second Reading sentences again. ""The amendment reflects a compromise negotiated between Privy Councillors on Privy Council terms"—" I hope your Lordships who are privy counsellors will already know but those of your Lordships who are not will realise just exactly what that means— ""and binding in honour on all those who have come to give it their assent".—[Official Report, 30/3/99; col. 207.]" At a time when we are all trying to restore the old moral value to Parliament, I think your Lordships would realise that Her Majesty’s Government renege on these words at their peril.