UK Parliament / Open data

Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Bill

Debate on bills and Committee of the Whole House (HC) on Tuesday, 21 November 2006, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Hain. The answering member was David Lidington.

Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Bill. Ordered that allocation of time provisions shall apply to proceedings on the Bill. Second reading debate. Agreed to on question. House resolved itself into a Committee. Committee stage. Clauses 2 and 5 debated and agreed to. Clauses 1, 3, 4, 6 to 28 agreed to. Schedules 1 to 9 agreed to. Bill reported without amendment. Bill read the third time and passed.

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

453 c414-518

Session

2006-07

Department

Northern Ireland Office

Legislative stage

Committee stage, Third reading, Report stage and Second reading

Procedure

Allocation of time motions

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Bill. Explanatory Notes Bill 7-EN also published.
Thursday, 16 November 2006
Bills
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Sammy Wilson | 453 c493-5 (Link to this contribution) Yes, they have made that clear. The amendment is not an attempt to put off the decision on devolutio...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c496 (Link to this contribution) I am still not clear whether the hon. Lady thinks that Sinn Fein can be in government without suppor...

Show all contributions (232)

Lady Hermon | 453 c495-6 (Link to this contribution) Let me make myself absolutely clear. I am speaking not only as the Member for North Down but as the ...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c496-7 (Link to this contribution) How quickly the conditions are met will depend on the enthusiasm with which Sinn Fein embraces the d...

Lembit Opik | 453 c496 (Link to this contribution) I am now clear about where DUP Members stand: the debate has been helpful in clarifying that. The on...

Lord Hain | 453 c497 (Link to this contribution) I have a great deal of time for the hon. Gentleman, but he really should not debase his argument wit...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c497 (Link to this contribution) Well, the Secretary of State’s reaction tells me more than his denial did. All that I am saying is t...

David Simpson | 453 c497-8 (Link to this contribution) Last week, I spoke to someone who told me that some 18 or 19 deadlines have been set in the Province...

Lord Bannside | 453 c498 (Link to this contribution) It should be put on record that the lady came from an outstanding family of devout Protestant church...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c498-9 (Link to this contribution) I wish to say a few words on an issue that appears to be precious to the Secretary of State and the ...

David Simpson | 453 c498 (Link to this contribution) I agree with everything that my right hon. Friend says. She came from an upstanding family. I must ...

Lord Hain | 453 c501 (Link to this contribution) I must finish these points before I take any interventions. So, 26 March will represent the end of ...

Lembit Opik | 453 c501 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?

Lord Hain | 453 c499-501 (Link to this contribution) Anyone from Parliament, Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK watching our debate will be filled wi...

Chair of Committees of the Whole House | 453 c502 (Link to this contribution) Order. I shall leave the Secretary of State to decide for himself which of those two interventions t...

Lord Hain | 453 c502 (Link to this contribution) I did respond briefly to the intervention by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik)—very ...

Lord Hain | 453 c501 (Link to this contribution) Of course, and we will continue to seek to do so.

Mark Durkan | 453 c502 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State rightly drew attention to the comments of the hon. Member for Belfast, North ...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c503-4 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that poll, because the Secretary of State is always kee...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c503 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend join me in encouraging the Secretary of State to read the results of the opinion...

Chair of Committees of the Whole House | 453 c507 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 34, page 5, leave out lines...

Mark Durkan | 453 c507 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment No. 33, page 4, leave out lines 8 to 10.

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c502 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c503 (Link to this contribution) I listened carefully to what the Secretary of State had to say and we are still waiting for him to g...

Lord Hain | 453 c502-3 (Link to this contribution) I want to finish this point. On that day, I was sharing lunch with a former sergeant from the Ulste...

Mark Durkan | 453 c507 (Link to this contribution) In an earlier debate this evening, the Democratic Unionist party again tried to create the misleadin...

Mark Durkan | 453 c507-10 (Link to this contribution) In the course of my remarks I will nail each and every one of those misrepresentations of what actua...

Mark Durkan | 453 c512-3 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point, but he appears to labour under the misapprehension that th...

Lembit Opik | 453 c512 (Link to this contribution) Would the hon. Gentleman nevertheless accept that his proposed change could work in the other direct...

Mark Durkan | 453 c511-2 (Link to this contribution) Yes, it was absolutely right, which is why I and most of my colleagues voted in support of the healt...

Alasdair McDonnell | 453 c511 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that, with hindsight—perhaps five years on—the decision taken on the mater...

Mark Durkan | 453 c510-1 (Link to this contribution) It is incredible on one level, but not on another. Members of the DUP feel that the Government are h...

Mark Durkan | 453 c510 (Link to this contribution) I want to make it clear to my hon. Friend that that is exactly what I am saying. The changes that th...

Stephen Pound | 453 c510 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, and I am sure that he regrets as much as I do t...

Lord Hanson of Flint | 453 c514 (Link to this contribution) Rather like James Bond’s martini, I am shaken but not stirred by the amendment. I am shaken because ...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c477 (Link to this contribution) indicated assent.

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c482 (Link to this contribution) I have to tell the hon. Gentleman that it strikes me as a bit rich to be talking to DUP Members abou...

Lord Hanson of Flint | 453 c478-80 (Link to this contribution) I thank right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions. Because of the programme motion, I have...

Laurence Robertson | 453 c477-8 (Link to this contribution) It is their police force—not ours, imposing a judgment on them. It is very important that those who ...

Chair of Committees of the Whole House | 453 c480-1 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 44, in page 2, line 11, aft...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c480 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment No. 43, in page 2, line 10, after ‘2007,’, insert

Peter Robinson | 453 c481-2 (Link to this contribution) Was my hon. Friend as disturbed as I was by the remarks of the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Herm...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c481 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the opportunity of moving the amendment in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c482 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. The hon. Lady’s remarks—I am sorry that she is not in her ...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c482 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that DUP Members are disquieted by the Secretary of State’s evasion on th...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c482-3 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right—that was precisely the point that I was making. The Secretary of State and M...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c483 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady appears to say that if one sets a deadline, the parties should stick to it and agree o...

Lady Hermon | 453 c483 (Link to this contribution) I should like to correct the record, especially given that I was not in the Chamber when the first a...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c483 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has raised important questions, which only the hon. Member for North Down can answer....

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c483 (Link to this contribution) The earlier intervention by my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson) in the absenc...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c484 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a pertinent point. Some people might wonder in those circumstances whether ...

Mark Durkan | 453 c484 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the obvious question that arises from the Secretary of State’s in...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c484 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the Secretary of State’s intervention, although we are well aware of what the Bill...

Lord Hain | 453 c484 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman asked me about the Sinn Fein position on policing. The Bill is crystal clear—it c...

Peter Robinson | 453 c484-5 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend aware that the Secretary of State has specific powers under the Bill to stop the p...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c485 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point. The hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) has raised the matt...

Lembit Opik | 453 c485 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has been generous in giving way. I do not judge the DUP on the matter. I should l...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) That is quite right. The SDLP did not make such things preconditions for going on to the Policing Bo...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has summed up the issue very succinctly, and people should therefore be in no doubt w...

Mark Durkan | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) It is not the case that we have no demand or requirement for the devolution of justice and policing ...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c485-7 (Link to this contribution) Having castigated people for setting deadlines, I will not get into the business of starting to set ...

Mark Durkan | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) Nor did Patten.

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) I accept entirely what the hon. Gentleman says: the SDLP has views, demands and policies on the issu...

Alan Reid | 453 c489-90 (Link to this contribution) With the amendments, the DUP is trying to push back the date by which the Assembly should be up and ...

Chair of Committees of the Whole House | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) Order. I remind the hon. Gentleman that the amendments are about delaying the restoration orders und...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c488 (Link to this contribution) I thank you, Mrs. Heal, and I will make my remarks in the context of the amendment. If we are to ha...

Lord Bannside | 453 c493 (Link to this contribution) They do not want to be in government with us.

Sammy Wilson | 453 c493 (Link to this contribution) First, let me make it clear that the amendment is not about putting off devolution or trying to avoi...

Lord Bannside | 453 c493 (Link to this contribution) I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman is trying to elevate that bit of white paper, which was drawn...

Mark Durkan | 453 c493 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman may accept that many people are relying on paragraph 10 of the St. Andrews ...

Lord Bannside | 453 c492-3 (Link to this contribution) Schedule 1, paragraph 1 tells us that there will be a transitional Assembly, which will meet on 24 N...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c490-2 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I can help the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. Reid) to understand the DUP mindset a li...

Mark Tami | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) Can my hon. Friend explain why DUP Members have not bothered to turn up for this part of the debate?...

Lord Hanson of Flint | 453 c515 (Link to this contribution) What I am saying—I hope that my hon. Friend listens and refers to it in Hansard tomorrow—is that if ...

Stephen Pound | 453 c515 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure what the parliamentary protocol is for saying that the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Dur...

Lord Hanson of Flint | 453 c514-5 (Link to this contribution) I accept and hear what my hon. Friend says, but these amendments would remove the duty on a minister...

Mark Durkan | 453 c515 (Link to this contribution) That answer would be very helpful if it had any relationship to the facts. Very clear requirements a...

Lord Hanson of Flint | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. We do not want gridlock in the Assembly; we want effec...

Mark Durkan | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) I want to explain to the Minister that our amendments are not about removing a ministerial code. We ...

Lord Hanson of Flint | 453 c515 (Link to this contribution) I hope that my hon. Friend gives me credit for giving way to him, even though the answer remains the...

Alan Reid | 453 c515 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister respond to the point raised by the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) and me that...

Mark Durkan | 453 c514 (Link to this contribution) I assure the Minister that we have no problem with placing the ministerial code on a statutory footi...

Lord Hain | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) They lost.

Mark Durkan | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) The DUP obviously believes that it is home in a boat with the vetoes that it has been seeking. At le...

Stephen Pound | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) They are probably watching the Celtic game.

Mark Durkan | 453 c516 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps they are supporting Celtic in the final moments of the game against Manchester United. Unfor...

Lady Hermon | 453 c476 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I am most grateful to you. I am sorry that there have been so many ...

Laurence Robertson | 453 c476-7 (Link to this contribution) Before I begin, I have been asked to pass on the apologies of my hon. Friend the Member for South St...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c473 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Alasdair McDonnell | 453 c473-4 (Link to this contribution) No, I am on a time constraint here. I am sorry. [Interruption.] I have only two minutes left. In ye...

Lady Hermon | 453 c474-5 (Link to this contribution) Thank you for calling me to speak, Madam Deputy Speaker; it is very kind of you to do so as we have ...

Peter Robinson | 453 c475 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Lady give way?

Lady Hermon | 453 c475-6 (Link to this contribution) No, I am sorry but I have limited time and I alone represent the Ulster Unionist party, and in fairn...

Speaker | 453 c476 (Link to this contribution) Order. It is difficult for the Hansard reporters if Members keep making sedentary interventions.

Lady Hermon | 453 c476 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is shameful that the Government have stuffed through in a very...

Speaker | 453 c476 (Link to this contribution) Order. I remind the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson) that it is extremely difficult for ...

Peter Robinson | 453 c468 (Link to this contribution) And Ulster Unionists as well.

Lady Hermon | 453 c462 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman. He even gave way with a smile, which is extraordinary. Tha...

Peter Robinson | 453 c462 (Link to this contribution) I said that I had given way for the last time, but I will give way to the hon. Lady.

Lady Hermon | 453 c462 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Peter Robinson | 453 c462 (Link to this contribution) But to accept what the hon. Gentleman has said I would have to accept an outrageous premise. The sug...

Lady Hermon | 453 c468 (Link to this contribution) I am a little bit concerned about the word ““repentance””. Will the hon. Gentleman confirm whether i...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c467-8 (Link to this contribution) I have listened with interest to many of the contributions that have been made from both sides of th...

David Anderson | 453 c464-7 (Link to this contribution) First, I apologise to the House for having to leave earlier. The question that we must ask ourselve...

Peter Robinson | 453 c462-4 (Link to this contribution) What I have said is abundantly clear. I do not feel bound by any deadline in the process. Conditions...

Lembit Opik | 453 c462 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Gentleman twice, but I wished to clarify my point. There surely has...

Speaker | 453 c470 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am responsible for ensuring that the debate concentrates on the Bill, so perhaps the hon. G...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c470 (Link to this contribution) I have said in the past that some of the Sinn Fein leadership were part of MI5. I believe that the B...

Mark Durkan | 453 c470 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c470 (Link to this contribution) The SDLP tried to lead me down the wrong path, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I shall listen to your advi...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c471 (Link to this contribution) On the issue of criminal assets, we are glad to hear the news today of the freezing of the assets of...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c470-1 (Link to this contribution) No, I will not be led astray again. Sinn Fein is trying to fool its electorate by suggesting that s...

Alasdair McDonnell | 453 c471-3 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief. I welcome the progress that we are making towards peace, stability and devolved go...

Mark Durkan | 453 c470 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the deeply held suspicion that some of those involved in the McCartne...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c469-70 (Link to this contribution) I mentioned earlier that Mr. Trimble has much to repent of as regards what he has done to the good p...

Peter Robinson | 453 c459 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman will allow me to finish what I am saying, I will give way to him shortly. I r...

Peter Robinson | 453 c459 (Link to this contribution) I seem to recall that when ““Slab”” Murphy’s farm was invaded by the guards on one side and the poli...

Peter Robinson | 453 c458-9 (Link to this contribution) As a Unionist who is proud to be British, I am delighted to follow the hon. Member for Thurrock (And...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c459 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming today’s news that £1 million of criminal assets are to be f...

Lady Hermon | 453 c457 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I cannot allow him to get away with tha...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c457-8 (Link to this contribution) I fully accept the long-standing agreement that Clement Attlee’s Government made that, unless or unt...

Eddie McGrady | 453 c453-5 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman’s comment is skewed, because a far higher proportion of Protestants join the poli...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c455-7 (Link to this contribution) Briefly, despite the curtailment of discussion and parliamentary process, I very much welcome the Bi...

Gregory Campbell | 453 c453 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has drawn attention to significant changes in policing over the past five years, ...

Peter Robinson | 453 c461 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way one last time.

Mark Durkan | 453 c460 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Peter Robinson | 453 c460-1 (Link to this contribution) I really must make some progress. I have not come to the real issue with which I want to deal, and w...

Lembit Opik | 453 c461 (Link to this contribution) I do not really disagree with the hon. Gentleman. Indeed, I understand his position, which he accura...

Peter Robinson | 453 c461 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the hon. Gentleman says. If the parties themselves had reached the timetables, there mig...

Peter Robinson | 453 c460 (Link to this contribution) I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, as he has been sitting on the edge of his seat.

Mark Durkan | 453 c460 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is presenting us with a farrago of misrepresentations of how the institutions act...

Peter Robinson | 453 c460 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman had been out in a spending department as I was, he would know just how flexibl...

Lembit Opik | 453 c443 (Link to this contribution) The theory sounds great, but when we consider the amendments—at which point we can talk in more deta...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c442 (Link to this contribution) I am truly bewildered by what the hon. Gentleman is saying. The flaw of the old system—and we know t...

Lembit Opik | 453 c441-2 (Link to this contribution) The majority of the contents of the list that I outlined earlier has in my judgment been determined ...

Peter Robinson | 453 c441 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman welcome the fact that one of the duties imposed on the institutional review ...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c443 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that as that system works pretty well for the Government in Westminst...

Lembit Opik | 453 c439 (Link to this contribution) What we hear now is the frustration of other parties, who are not Sinn Fein or the DUP, but who feel...

Lady Hermon | 453 c440 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right to be cynical about so-called unbreakable deadlines set by this Governme...

Lembit Opik | 453 c440-1 (Link to this contribution) To sum up on the deadlines question, my concern is not so much that the deadlines lack credibility i...

Iris Robinson | 453 c439 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the hon. Gentleman why he was not so exercised at the time that Sinn Fein-IRA failed to ma...

Lembit Opik | 453 c440 (Link to this contribution) Well, I was not happy about that either. The fact of the matter is that, as I said before, in the re...

Lord Bannside | 453 c450-2 (Link to this contribution) I invite the hon. Lady to come. I will get her a free pass and a cup of tea, and perhaps a hot cross...

Lady Hermon | 453 c450 (Link to this contribution) In the light of what the right hon. Gentleman has just said, will he confirm whether his party will ...

Eddie McGrady | 453 c453 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend the Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) spoke about many of the Bill’s successes, our hope...

Lord Cormack | 453 c452 (Link to this contribution) As you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have a pressing and long-standing parliamentary commitment tonigh...

Lembit Opik | 453 c443-4 (Link to this contribution) When the Liberal Democrats take power in 2009, many things are going to change—and that will be one ...

Speaker | 453 c444 (Link to this contribution) Order. I advise the House that 14 hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. The time available is li...

Mark Durkan | 453 c444-8 (Link to this contribution) The Bill is designed to implement the St. Andrews deal, and the SDLP has reason to welcome many aspe...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c448 (Link to this contribution) With respect to the hon. Gentleman, that is not the position of the Democratic Unionist party. What ...

Mark Durkan | 453 c448-9 (Link to this contribution) That intervention shows, as I pointed out previously, that Sinn Fein and the DUP give each other vet...

Lord Bannside | 453 c449-50 (Link to this contribution) As you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am a man of plain speech. People know that I try to keep my word ...

Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 453 c433-6 (Link to this contribution) I very much welcome the Bill and I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and his ...

David Lidington | 453 c433 (Link to this contribution) I hope my hon. Friend will forgive me if I do not; I am coming to the end of my speech. Whatever th...

Lembit Opik | 453 c438-9 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Secretary of State for making that clarification. Perhaps he might wish to give...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c439 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Lembit Opik | 453 c437-8 (Link to this contribution) It may seem unusual to those who have been listening to the Queen’s Speech debates that we have inte...

Lembit Opik | 453 c439 (Link to this contribution) I will in a moment. I am thinking specifically of the DUP. We may end up giving those parties some ...

Mark Durkan | 453 c439 (Link to this contribution) First, I hope that the hon. Gentleman appreciates, as I do, that the apparent slippage that he is ta...

David Lidington | 453 c430 (Link to this contribution) As I said, I do not want to impose arbitrary dates, particularly because, as an Opposition spokesman...

David Lidington | 453 c430 (Link to this contribution) The sooner that that happens, the better. In considering the points made by Northern Ireland Members...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c430 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely important point, as he is dealing with the nub of the issue. F...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c430 (Link to this contribution) From my perspective in Essex, there is an elephant trap for the constitutional parties—the Ulster Un...

David Lidington | 453 c430-1 (Link to this contribution) I can only repeat that the electoral timetable will impose its own pressures on political developmen...

Lord Hain | 453 c431 (Link to this contribution) I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman. He is describing accurately—and eloquently, if I may...

Lady Hermon | 453 c431 (Link to this contribution) In the light of the severe criticism that the hon. Gentleman has rightly levelled at Sinn Fein for d...

David Lidington | 453 c432-3 (Link to this contribution) We shall have to see what happens on Friday regarding any nomination process that takes place. It se...

Andrew Turner | 453 c433 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend give way?

Lord Hain | 453 c427 (Link to this contribution) With all due respect, I do not see why that should be the case. The parties will be elected to a new...

Lady Hermon | 453 c427 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Secretary of State for being so generous in taking interventions from both side...

David Lidington | 453 c429 (Link to this contribution) I see no reason why Sinn Fein should not make it tomorrow, but I preface my answer by remarking that...

Lord Cormack | 453 c430 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend, who is making an excellent speech, agree that unless an assurance is given by t...

David Lidington | 453 c429 (Link to this contribution) There must be both a clear statement of commitment and evidence on the ground, and I look to bodies ...

Peter Robinson | 453 c429 (Link to this contribution) I almost apologise for asking this question, because it is an awkward one to bowl towards the shadow...

David Lidington | 453 c428-9 (Link to this contribution) It is never satisfactory when we are invited to bypass the normal procedures of the House for debate...

Gregory Campbell | 453 c429 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman outlined the bloody history to which the IRA has subjected the people of Northern...

Gregory Campbell | 453 c427 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State has said several times in the course of his speech that both my party and Sin...

Lord Hain | 453 c427-8 (Link to this contribution) All I can go by is what Sinn Fein told me. Its representatives told me that they would prefer no con...

Lord Bannside | 453 c423 (Link to this contribution) Has the Secretary of State seen the recent statement by Sinn Fein saying that it will not call an ar...

Lord Hain | 453 c425-6 (Link to this contribution) First, it is important that Sinn Fein supports all the institutions of policing, including the Polic...

Lord Hain | 453 c424 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman that all parties, especially those aspiring to ministerial office, m...

Mark Durkan | 453 c424 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State indicate whether he believes that pledging to uphold the rule of law wou...

Lord Hain | 453 c424-5 (Link to this contribution) In respect of the earlier point, it is absolutely essential that the Parades Commission—which is the...

Sammy Wilson | 453 c425 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State quite rightly points out the magnificent role that those who are on the Polic...

Lord Hain | 453 c423 (Link to this contribution) I have not, but it is absolutely apparent and crystal clear to me that, to fulfil the terms of this ...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c423 (Link to this contribution) When?

Lord Hain | 453 c423-4 (Link to this contribution) It is a matter for Sinn Fein; but of course, it is important that Sinn Fein makes its position clear...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c424 (Link to this contribution) Does the Secretary of State recognise that, as far as the Unionist population is concerned, rhetoric...

Lord Hain | 453 c417 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be read a Second time. The Bill is potentially the most significant fo...

Jim Devine | 453 c417 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend will be aware that tomorrow, the Scottish Parliament will discuss the collapse ...

Lady Hermon | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) Given that we did not have a particularly lengthy debate—in fact, none at all—on the allocation of t...

Lord Hain | 453 c417-8 (Link to this contribution) I pay tribute to the fearless way in which my hon. Friend has exposed the Farepak scandal. He is abs...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend give way?

Lord Hain | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) I point out to the hon. Lady, whom I respect greatly, that the reason is to make progress, so that w...

Andrew Mackinlay | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) I thought that he might. He moved the motion formally, without making a speech, which I was very app...

Lord Hain | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is a very diligent parliamentarian—there are few more diligent—but I have already ans...

Lord Hain | 453 c418-9 (Link to this contribution) There has been no blackmail at all. The people of Northern Ireland have demanded that this happen. T...

Lord Hain | 453 c419 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman accurately describes the circumstances of suspension. What we are concerned...

Lord Hain | 453 c420 (Link to this contribution) I have given an outline of what will happen on 24 November. I am currently in discussion with the Sp...

Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 453 c420 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State mentioned Friday 24 November and said that the DUP and Sinn Fein would have t...

Lord Hain | 453 c420 (Link to this contribution) The electorate will speak and give a mandate to their parties to support the St. Andrews agreement. ...

Lord Cormack | 453 c420 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman has told us the date of the election, which is in the Bill, but will he con...

Lord Hain | 453 c420 (Link to this contribution) If I may say so, I fully intend to deal with that matter in just a second—in fact, precisely this se...

Lady Hermon | 453 c420 (Link to this contribution) I would like to take up the Secretary of State’s offer of providing reassurance. Will he reassure me...

Lord Hain | 453 c419 (Link to this contribution) It depends on which regulations the hon. Gentleman is referring to, but in respect of the Human Righ...

John Bercow | 453 c419 (Link to this contribution) The explanatory notes refer to the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, but as far as I can tel...

Eddie McGrady | 453 c421 (Link to this contribution) As I interpreted it, the Secretary of State stated categorically that, on Friday, the DUP and Sinn F...

Lembit Opik | 453 c421 (Link to this contribution) Like the Secretary of State, I am planning and hoping for success, but I am not optimistic that the ...

Lord Hain | 453 c421 (Link to this contribution) As I said, the two largest parties will indicate who the First Minister and the Deputy First Ministe...

Jeffrey M Donaldson | 453 c422 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State talks about the process running out of track. Could he give an indication to ...

Lord Hain | 453 c422 (Link to this contribution) Only one party has been absolutely clear: the UK Unionist party of Bob McCartney. He has made it abs...

Lord Hain | 453 c422-3 (Link to this contribution) Sinn Fein needs to call an ard fheis—and before it, I guess, an ard chomhairle—to make it crystal cl...

Lembit Opik | 453 c421 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State made a similar statement about 24 November. He said that there would be no ne...

Lord Hain | 453 c421 (Link to this contribution) I have been grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s support and that of his party throughout the process, ...

Andrew Turner | 453 c422 (Link to this contribution) I do not suppose that many people will want to vote against the St. Andrews agreement in March, but ...

Lord Hain | 453 c422 (Link to this contribution) I am obviously happy to answer the hon. Gentleman’s questions, as I always do. However, I am not sur...

Lembit Opik | 453 c501 (Link to this contribution) I stress that I do not condemn the Government’s approach to the deadlines. I can see exactly why thi...

Mark Durkan | 453 c488-9 (Link to this contribution) I oppose amendment No. 43 and the other amendments grouped with it. It is clear from the remarks of...

David Lidington | 453 c431 (Link to this contribution) I completely agree with the Secretary of State. I hear those views expressed on the streets, even in...

Lord Bannside | 453 c419 (Link to this contribution) Will the right hon. Gentleman make it clear to the House that it was because of something that Sinn ...

Lembit Opik | 453 c482 (Link to this contribution) For the sake of clarity—though it already seems clear to me—will the hon. Gentleman confirm that wha...

Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 453 c436-7 (Link to this contribution) I could, but I do not think that it would do any good if I went into considerable detail about what ...

Lady Hermon | 453 c436 (Link to this contribution) As the right hon. Gentleman was a key player at the time of the Belfast agreement and knows its deta...

Lord Hain | 453 c438 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to keep labouring the point. The point about the previous phase of this process was th...

Lord Hain | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) I will.

Baroness Hoey | 453 c418 (Link to this contribution) I want to take the Secretary of State back to his comment about Members of the Assembly no longer be...

Iris Robinson | 453 c507 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps the hon. Gentleman can explain to me why Bairbre de Brun was able to take the decision on ma...

Mark Tami | 453 c510 (Link to this contribution) Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Stephen Pound), is it not ...

Alan Reid | 453 c513-4 (Link to this contribution) Clause 5 provides for preventing individual Ministers from acting unilaterally on significant or con...

Gregory Campbell | 453 c487 (Link to this contribution) Is not the important point not that all the democrats in all the other political parties are quite p...

Mark Durkan | 453 c516-8 (Link to this contribution) So I understand, and I hope that it is some consolation to the DUP that that result has perturbed th...

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown | 453 c471 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, and I absolutely concur with every word. Yes it will ta...

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