Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Committee of the Whole House (HL) and Debate on bills on Tuesday, 25 January 2011, in the House of Lords.

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. Lords committee stage (thirteenth day). Clause 11 amendments considered. Amendments 89 (relating to the Isle of Wight) and 89BZA agreed.

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

724 c847-954

Session

2010-12

Legislative stage

Committee stage

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. Brought from the Commons. Explanatory notes also published (HL Bill 26-EN).
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Bills
House of Lords

Proceeding contributions

Baroness Hayman | 724 c851 (Link to this contribution) Because the point that the noble Lord is making is quite complicated, it would be simpler if I put t...

Lord Lipsey | 724 c847-51 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I assume that I will not be accused of filibustering if my first remarks are not as releva...

Show all contributions (224)

Lord Lipsey | 724 c847 (Link to this contribution) 75: Clause 11, page 10, line 15, at end insert— ““( ) Should the Boundary Commission conclude in the...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c847 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her remarks, and indeed for the way in which they were resp...

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon | 724 c847 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have the temerity to ask for the forbearance of the House to say that, on behalf of thos...

Lord Davies of Stamford | 724 c859 (Link to this contribution) I think there is a misunderstanding. What is new about what I have just said, as against the proposa...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c859-60 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the noble Lord says, but the point that I was on at the moment is not just that there is...

Lord Davies of Stamford | 724 c858-9 (Link to this contribution) I have followed the noble and learned Lord’s course, and I am going to try to be helpful. He is worr...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c859 (Link to this contribution) That is not far away from the amendment that we debated almost exactly a week ago. Indeed, I have al...

Lord Davies of Stamford | 724 c860 (Link to this contribution) There is still confusion here. On that matter, there is a great difference between individual politi...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c857 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I start by indicating to the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, that in the days when I had to atten...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c858 (Link to this contribution) Obviously the noble Lord is right to the extent that differential turnout has an effect on the value...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c857-8 (Link to this contribution) One of the reasons why we are still here in this Committee on the 13th day is that the Government pe...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c858 (Link to this contribution) I was here last night and I heard those interminable statistics. The point is that this is not what ...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c858 (Link to this contribution) Why is it not right in terms of constituency sizes but right in terms of London elections—in Westmin...

Lord Lipsey | 724 c852 (Link to this contribution) To fill the silence for a minute, my noble friend is of course right on his first point that this co...

Lord Soley | 724 c852-3 (Link to this contribution) Briefly, I support my noble friend on this amendment. I agree entirely that it would be better if th...

Lord Davies of Stamford | 724 c853-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this is a good moment in the Committee to look quite clearly at the contrast between the p...

Lord Bach | 724 c855-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, my noble friend’s Amendment 75 alters the extent to which the Boundary Commission is able ...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c856 (Link to this contribution) How does my noble friend consider that the Boundary Commission could be in a position to make a well...

Lord Bach | 724 c856-7 (Link to this contribution) Obviously, I do not believe that it can. That is why I think that public inquiries, which we will co...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c954 (Link to this contribution) That is very helpful. So you could have a situation in which England, Scotland and Northern Ireland ...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c954 (Link to this contribution) I hope I can answer them. My understanding of the amendment is that the tie would happen at the end ...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c954 (Link to this contribution) The logic of giving it to the smallest is that there is a sense of fairness in that. Also, the large...

Lord Grocott | 724 c873-4 (Link to this contribution) On this point, I should say to my noble friends of many years, Lord Graham and Lord Dixon, that the ...

Lord Cavendish of Furness | 724 c875 (Link to this contribution) We also have Yorkshire and north Lancashire and much else besides. While I am on my feet, I will say...

Lord Judd | 724 c874-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the amendments that we are considering this afternoon go to the very heart of the widespre...

Lord Walton of Detchant | 724 c874 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have no wish to delay proceedings and I shall be extremely brief. I was born in a place ...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c874 (Link to this contribution) My noble friend is right. Communities and territories will be divided up, presumably on a computeris...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c877 (Link to this contribution) Would my noble friend accept that AV+ is not as strong as a constituency link?

Lord Soley | 724 c876-7 (Link to this contribution) I support Amendment 75ZB on the River Thames. It is a pleasure to follow the noble and learned Baron...

Baroness Butler-Sloss | 724 c876 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this is the first time that I have spoken on the merits of the Bill and I want to be brief...

Lord Judd | 724 c875-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am glad that the noble Lord took the opportunity to expand a little more on his strength...

Lord Soley | 724 c877 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely. I am no great expert on voting systems, but my understanding is that certain PR systems ...

Lord Soley | 724 c877-9 (Link to this contribution) That is a relief to hear, but I remember that someone else there caused some trouble. The point is ...

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 724 c877 (Link to this contribution) Would my noble friend accept that we were no trouble at all?

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c879 (Link to this contribution) Does the noble Baroness believe that noble Lords should be allowed to give oral evidence to these in...

Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes | 724 c879 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to ruffle these apparently cathartic and calming waters, but the speeches that I have ...

Lord Kinnock | 724 c879 (Link to this contribution) On the subject of reading and remembering, and since the issue of manifestos has been brought up and...

Lord Trimble | 724 c880 (Link to this contribution) Before the noble Lord sits down, perhaps I could suggest to him that he look again at the Cunningham...

Lord Trimble | 724 c880 (Link to this contribution) Whoever said no should also go and read the Cunningham report. That report, which was from a cross-p...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c883-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, first, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan of Huyton, for introducing the debate, whic...

Lord Bach | 724 c882-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Morgan of Huyton for introducing this group of amendments, wh...

Lord Clinton-Davis | 724 c881-2 (Link to this contribution) I was born in the borough of Hackney. I lived in Hackney. I was a member of the council there and I ...

Baroness Quin | 724 c881 (Link to this contribution) My constituency was Gateshead, as my noble friend knows only too well. Perhaps in just making a very...

Lord Graham of Edmonton | 724 c881 (Link to this contribution) What was it?

Baroness Quin | 724 c881 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the constituency that I used to represent in the other place has been mentioned so many ti...

Baroness Nye | 724 c880-1 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I would like to speak to Amendment 75ZB and move back on to the amendments, which I think ...

Lord Wills | 724 c886 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is making a strong case, but does he not accept that representations on the grounds of ...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c885-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the terms of the amendments are quite deliberate, stating that ““a Boundary Commission sha...

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale | 724 c890-1 (Link to this contribution) I rise to support the amendment and, pace the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, I have never had anything to d...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c887-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, we now return to Scotland. We have heard a few mentions of the Clyde—the River Clyde in pa...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c887 (Link to this contribution) 77B: Clause 11, page 10, line 21, at end insert— ““( ) The Boundary Commission for Scotland may take...

Lord Trimble | 724 c888 (Link to this contribution) If the noble Lord will give way, I think I can help him. Rule 3 at page 9 refers to the four parts o...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c886 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister have a view on whether when taking decisions the commission should have in mind th...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c886 (Link to this contribution) I make two points in response. Yes, there is a quota, but, first, in making recommendations, the Bou...

Baroness Morgan of Huyton | 724 c887 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, there are times, particularly perhaps in the early hours of the many mornings that we have...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c886 (Link to this contribution) If the noble Lord is saying that the Boundary Commission should have regard to the political makeup ...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c890 (Link to this contribution) I accept the second two parts of the noble Lord’s three-part advice. As for the first part, I think ...

Lord Tyler | 724 c890 (Link to this contribution) I wonder whether I might offer a word of advice to the noble Lord. At 1.30 this morning, in one minu...

Lord Graham of Edmonton | 724 c865-7 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I will speak to the amendments tabled by my noble friends Lady McDonagh and Lord Kennedy. ...

Baroness Morgan of Huyton | 724 c863-4 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I wish to introduce the amendments in the name of my noble friend Lady McDonagh and to spe...

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 724 c864-5 (Link to this contribution) I speak in favour of Amendment 75ZB, which is about boundaries not crossing the Thames. It is possib...

Lord Lipsey | 724 c862-3 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, and the point about the escalation in the number of seats could quickly be dealt with if the...

Baroness Morgan of Huyton | 724 c863 (Link to this contribution) 75ZA: Clause 11, page 10, line 15, at end insert— ““( ) In Newcastle and Gateshead, a Boundary Commi...

Lord Lipsey | 724 c862 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I come to another point that the Minister appeared not to have absorbed fully in our earli...

Lord Grocott | 724 c862 (Link to this contribution) My noble friend is absolutely right, although the number of seats has tended to increase in recent y...

Lord Lipsey | 724 c861 (Link to this contribution) I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this brief but informative debate—my noble friends Lo...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c861-2 (Link to this contribution) My noble friend has been very generous and tolerant. Does he share my puzzlement that the Government...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c860-1 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, even if one puts aside for a moment the question of public hearings, there is still opport...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c872-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, over the centuries, rivers have been essential to the characters and fortunes of the citie...

Lord Swinfen | 724 c868 (Link to this contribution) In the first part of his speech, the noble Lord, Lord Dixon, pointed out that the River Tyne brought...

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top | 724 c868-70 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I find what the noble Lord says interesting. My experience all through my life has been th...

Lord Elystan-Morgan | 724 c870 (Link to this contribution) Does the noble Lord recollect the myth that when the Habeas Corpus Act was passed, it did not achiev...

Lord Cavendish of Furness | 724 c867 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I apologise to the Committee for intervening in a debate on a Bill in which I have hithert...

Lord Dixon | 724 c867-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, first, I thank my noble friend Lord Graham for his kind words, which I have not earned. I ...

Lord Graham of Edmonton | 724 c868 (Link to this contribution) Yes.

Lord Dixon | 724 c868 (Link to this contribution) There is a rivalry. There are the makems and the takems. I am a Sunderland supporter. Those on the n...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c891-2 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I suspect that not for the last time in the debates this evening I take a different point ...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c892-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this amendment, put down by my noble friend Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, proposes that: "““The...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c893 (Link to this contribution) Seventy.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c893-4 (Link to this contribution) There are 70 in relation to the Scottish Parliament, so while they cannot be coterminous it must be ...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c894-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, that was interesting and, by the standards of this Committee, a relatively short debate, s...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c895 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, that was a very full reply. I am learning that, if I speak briefly, listen to the noble Lo...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c895 (Link to this contribution) Before my noble friend sits down—

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c895-6 (Link to this contribution) 79A: Clause 11, page 10, leave out lines 23 to 30 and insert— ““Whole numbers of constituencies (1) ...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c895 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my noble friend, but on the basis of previous advice, I beg leave to withdraw my am...

Lord Liddle | 724 c898-900 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have never before moved an amendment to an amendment in any other democratic body that I...

Lord Teverson | 724 c900-2 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I speak for the first time on this Bill—on Committee day 13. I have obviously been remiss ...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c896-8 (Link to this contribution) I apologise for arriving late. The Government have consistently argued that the core principle under...

Lord Liddle | 724 c898 (Link to this contribution) 79AA: Line 10, at end insert— ““( ) the county of Cumbria””

Lord Crickhowell | 724 c903 (Link to this contribution) However, those who had organised it had foreseen that possibility and, luckily, there was someone wa...

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton | 724 c903-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I listened very carefully to what was said yesterday, in particular by the noble Baroness,...

Lord Crickhowell | 724 c902 (Link to this contribution) I have not been entirely helpful to the Government on the Bill until this point. I am a member of th...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c903 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry to interrupt, but I do not think that the noble Lord's wife could have been seven months ...

Lord Roberts of Conwy | 724 c908 (Link to this contribution) I hope I may be able to say something as a native of the isle of Anglesey, which features in this am...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c905-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, when I came into this House I was told that it was not a tradition to divide the House too...

Baroness O'Cathain | 724 c911 (Link to this contribution) However, I fear that if you bring everything local to representation in the national, economic, poli...

Lord Myners | 724 c908-10 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I support Amendment 79A, specifically from the perspective of its reference to the county ...

Lord Teverson | 724 c910 (Link to this contribution) It is important to say that all six MPs are of the same opinion on the issue, although there was cer...

Lord Myners | 724 c910-1 (Link to this contribution) I welcome that intervention from the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, which correctly informs our debate o...

Lord Knight of Weymouth | 724 c911 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I, too, support the amendment in the name of my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer and...

Lord Trimble | 724 c912 (Link to this contribution) I thank the noble Lord for giving way. I have a question. My figures may not be accurate but, if you...

Lord Knight of Weymouth | 724 c912 (Link to this contribution) I think that I understand the point that the noble Baroness is making; that is, that regardless of w...

Lord Myners | 724 c912-3 (Link to this contribution) I add my voice in agreement with the observation made by the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. The sounding...

Lord Teverson | 724 c912 (Link to this contribution) From the MPs, and from what we have gathered from the people in Cornwall, it appears that they are h...

Lord Touhig | 724 c914-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, my noble friend Lord Knight reminds us that this is day 13 of the Bill. During the dinner ...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c915-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I suppose that, as one of the Peers from Scotland, I am duty bound to speak up for the Arg...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c913 (Link to this contribution) The reason why my noble friend is getting interventions is that this is precisely an issue that woul...

Lord Knight of Weymouth | 724 c913-4 (Link to this contribution) My noble friend hit the nail on the head. We will have separate debates around the need for the oppo...

Baroness O'Cathain | 724 c913 (Link to this contribution) I make one observation again. There are the examples of Liverpool and Everton and of Celtic and Rang...

Lord Knight of Weymouth | 724 c913 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am delighted and slightly stunned to have stimulated such debate on day 13 of this Commi...

Lord Phillips of Sudbury | 724 c936 (Link to this contribution) Am I not right in thinking that the Duchy of Cornwall is based upon the fact that in times long past...

Lord Myners | 724 c935-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am surprised if there was any suggestion that this amendment would be not moved because ...

Lord Myners | 724 c935 (Link to this contribution) 88: Clause 11, page 10, line 29, at end insert— ““( ) There shall remain the current number of const...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c934 (Link to this contribution) I have heard what the Minister said. It is not just about remoteness. I understand totally that remo...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c933-4 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, Amendment 83 would guarantee that there will always be three constituencies in the South L...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c932 (Link to this contribution) 83: Clause 11, page 10, line 29, at end insert— ““( ) 3 constituencies in the South Lanarkshire coun...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c931-2 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I do not know about a fair hearing, because some mean-spirited attitudes have been shown o...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c931 (Link to this contribution) It says so much about the House of Lords that I thought that my noble and learned friend Lord Wallac...

Lord Lamont of Lerwick | 724 c931 (Link to this contribution) I urge my noble friend to tread gingerly on this issue for two reasons. First, he will remember that...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c930-1 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, nobody has risen to support the noble Lord, Lord McAvoy, but I would not think of suggesti...

Baroness Corston | 724 c941 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I support the amendment of my noble friend Lord Myners. Thirty-five years ago I was the re...

Lord Berkeley | 724 c942 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I visited Cornwall for many years. More recently, I became a resident there. Unsurprisingl...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c941 (Link to this contribution) It was a rather complex set of decisions, simply because there is a significant number of these chap...

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor | 724 c939-40 (Link to this contribution) In following my noble friend and the noble Lord’s comments, I will briefly reflect on a couple of po...

Lord Davies of Stamford | 724 c940 (Link to this contribution) Before my noble friend leaves his personal reminiscences of Cornwall, will he tell the House—we are ...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c940 (Link to this contribution) I shall speak briefly, but with strong conviction, in support of the amendment tabled by my noble fr...

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor | 724 c937 (Link to this contribution) Will the noble Lord give way?

Lord Myners | 724 c936-7 (Link to this contribution) I was about to bring my address to a close, but I now feel that I have been given an opportunity to ...

Lord Myners | 724 c937-8 (Link to this contribution) I would have been more than happy to have given way to the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Goss Moor, who...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c927 (Link to this contribution) That is fine. I will answer the question. Let me make it clear that I have no intention of putting t...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c927 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord has given me half a minute to answer about four questions. If the mood of the House i...

Lord Rennard | 724 c927 (Link to this contribution) Before the noble Lord sits down—I assume that he must be reaching a conclusion after 14 minutes—perh...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c924-5 (Link to this contribution) This amendment deletes the constituency of Orkney and Shetland from the preserved list. I hope a Lib...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c924 (Link to this contribution) 79B: Clause 11, page 10, leave out lines 25 to 27

Lord McAvoy | 724 c926-7 (Link to this contribution) I know. I was not being sarcastic. I hope that other Members listen as well because I have been spea...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c925-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my noble friend for sharing that local knowledge, because it is surely relevant whe...

Lord McFall of Alcluith | 724 c925 (Link to this contribution) I remind my noble friend that the Argyll and Bute constituency is a political construct from the pre...

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale | 724 c930 (Link to this contribution) I think that both those things are clear about the Opposition today. Then, the Opposition were not s...

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean | 724 c929 (Link to this contribution) I suggest to the noble Baroness that one of the differences between the Opposition’s approach then a...

Lord Bach | 724 c930 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I will be brief. I agree very much with a great deal that was said by my noble friend in m...

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale | 724 c927-8 (Link to this contribution) I must tell my noble friend Lord McAvoy, for whom I usually have a great respect and affection, that...

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale | 724 c928-9 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord anticipates my next point. The Benches opposite have the temerity to complain when we...

Lord Trefgarne | 724 c928 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I apologise to the noble Baroness. When she said that the Bill had been rushed through, I ...

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale | 724 c929 (Link to this contribution) Just let me finish the sentence. The mantra that we kept hearing repeated, which I am sure the noble...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c929 (Link to this contribution) My Lords—

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale | 724 c929 (Link to this contribution) There were many clauses, but it was one Bill—one self-contained, sharply focused Bill on the Scottis...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c929 (Link to this contribution) Will the noble Baroness remind us how many clauses were in the Bill when it came to the House?

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c919 (Link to this contribution) I am sure Members of Parliament are able to deal with such clashes. I know the noble Lord, Lord Foul...

Lord Maxton | 724 c919 (Link to this contribution) I know the Isle of Arran quite well. I look across to Argyll from my house on the Isle of Arran. It ...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c919 (Link to this contribution) I have heard the noble Lord. The parliamentary constituencies do not create or destroy historic iden...

Lord Knight of Weymouth | 724 c919 (Link to this contribution) I certainly would not want to trick the noble Lord the Leader of the House. When I represented a sea...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c921 (Link to this contribution) That is not what we are trying to do. We are saying that there should be a certain number of constit...

Baroness Corston | 724 c921 (Link to this contribution) Is the Leader of the House aware that if one wants to upset someone in Cornwall, one should suggest ...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c920 (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord’s words spoke for themselves when he said, ““I don’t trust the Boundary Commission to...

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton | 724 c920 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, there could be complete agreement around the House if the noble Lord were to concede that ...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c919-20 (Link to this contribution) My example answered the question of the noble Lord, Lord Knight. The noble Lord, Lord Maxton, raises...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c920 (Link to this contribution) This comes back to the Boundary Commission, which some of us do not trust to take the right decision...

Lord Campbell-Savours | 724 c921 (Link to this contribution) I keep going on about the question of marginality, although I do not see it in a political context, ...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c921 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, there is no evidence to suggest that that would be the likely result. The review might res...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c921-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I will reply and then the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, will reply. That was a debate from a ...

Lord Teverson | 724 c923 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I thank the Leader of the House for least going through the arguments. I must admit that I...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c921 (Link to this contribution) I assure the noble Baroness that I am not trying to upset anyone, either in Cornwall or in Devon. I ...

Lord Liddle | 724 c923-4 (Link to this contribution) To tell you the truth, I was not sure what I was supposed to do. I just wanted to say that I hope th...

Lord Liddle | 724 c923 (Link to this contribution) I shall withdraw my amendment, but I hope that when we get to Report—

Baroness Anelay of St Johns | 724 c923 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I hesitate to interrupt the noble Lord, Lord Liddle. It is not that we do not wish to hear...

Lord Liddle | 724 c923 (Link to this contribution) The Chairman asked me to speak.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns | 724 c923 (Link to this contribution) I beg the noble Lord’s pardon.

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, what a fascinating debate we have had on these amendments—rather more interesting than I w...

Lord Crickhowell | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) It is not that rare.

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) I thank the noble Lord, Lord Myners. That is precisely what I mean. Noble Lords opposite say that e...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) My Lords—

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) It is not that rare, but very occasionally—about once every 10 years—my noble friend is vociferous i...

Lord Myners | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) Surely the noble Lord is aware that this is not about equality of the number of constituencies; it i...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c917 (Link to this contribution) I will give way to the noble Lord in a moment. I know that some noble Lords opposite have represente...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c917 (Link to this contribution) May I gently correct the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde? There are in fact three parts of Ayrshire—Eas...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c916 (Link to this contribution) I want the noble Lord to respond to this—I am looking forward to it. Not only do I live in a Westmin...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c917 (Link to this contribution) My Lords—

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c917 (Link to this contribution) I thank the noble Lord. I have been sitting quietly through the whole debate. At the most recent reo...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c917-8 (Link to this contribution) Again, this rather proves my point. It is politicians who want to fix all these constituencies in a ...

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton | 724 c918 (Link to this contribution) I have a simple question for the noble Lord the Leader of the House: has he ever attended a public b...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c918 (Link to this contribution) I can deal with that very quickly, my Lords: no. We will come to discussing the appeals process late...

Lord Teverson | 724 c918 (Link to this contribution) I apologise for interrupting my noble friend the Leader of the House. It is important to say that no...

Lord Liddle | 724 c918 (Link to this contribution) I think that the noble Lord is slightly misrepresenting the point that we are trying to make. There ...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c918-9 (Link to this contribution) That is exactly what noble Lords opposite are saying. The noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, said th...

Lord Knight of Weymouth | 724 c919 (Link to this contribution) My Lords—

Lord Phillips of Sudbury | 724 c942 (Link to this contribution) I hope the noble Lord will not be upset by my question, but I have completely lost the drift of his ...

Lord Berkeley | 724 c943 (Link to this contribution) I was illustrating the difficulty for a small community of 2,000 people of getting a new ferry link ...

Lord Tyler | 724 c943 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely grateful to the noble Lord, for whom I have a lot of affection and with whom I have w...

Lord Berkeley | 724 c943 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the noble Lord. I am no great expert on sizes of constituencies. Under the num...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c943-4 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, we have had a tour around Britain right around the House since supper. Every place we have...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c944-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am conscious that some hours ago I replied to a debate in which the issue was not crossi...

Lord Myners | 724 c946-7 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have now recovered my composure after the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, criticised my service ...

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor | 724 c947 (Link to this contribution) If the noble Lord was under any illusion about that, let me say that I am unequivocally in favour. T...

Lord Myners | 724 c948 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful that the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, has—

Lord Myners | 724 c948 (Link to this contribution) I find the discourtesy of the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, which seems to be present at any time that I s...

Lord Tyler | 724 c948 (Link to this contribution) Ditto to that. Would the noble Lord like to conclude by putting his amendment and testing the opinio...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c949-52 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, disappointingly for Members of the House, this is not part of our tour of Great Britain. T...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c952-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am tempted to say that perhaps the prime reason why the Government’s scheme is better is...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c948-9 (Link to this contribution) 89A: Clause 11, page 11, leave out lines 12 to 26 and insert— ““Allocation of constituencies (1) The...

Lord Wallace of Tankerness | 724 c953-4 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, Amendment 89BZA deals with the unlikely, but nevertheless mathematically possible, scenari...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c953 (Link to this contribution) Naturally I am disappointed by the response to my scheme. I am not sure what the answer is to the qu...

Lord McNally | 724 c953 (Link to this contribution) 89BZA: Clause 11, page 11, line 22, at end insert— ““( ) Where the figure given by sub-paragraph (3)...

Lord Lipsey | 724 c851 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move.

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c851-2 (Link to this contribution) I apologise to the Lord Speaker and to the House. Will my noble friend clarify his thinking, so that...

Lord Howarth of Newport | 724 c851 (Link to this contribution) Can my noble friend clarify his thinking in two regards? His amendment provides that the Boundary Co...

Lord Falconer of Thoroton | 724 c954 (Link to this contribution) I have just three questions. First, why will it apply only in the final seat? Why would it not be po...

Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes | 724 c879 (Link to this contribution) Are they unable to write or read or spell?

Lord Kinnock | 724 c880 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am glad that I gave way, even though I did not give way. The point about manifestos will...

Lord Kinnock | 724 c885 (Link to this contribution) I assure the Minister that there is no ambition on this side of the Committee to tie the hands of th...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 724 c888-90 (Link to this contribution) I am really grateful to the noble Lord opposite—I never thought that I would be saying that. That is...

Lord Harris of Haringey | 724 c870-2 (Link to this contribution) I am particularly grateful for that intervention because I can see the value of such an analysis, th...

Baroness D'Souza | 724 c905 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I listened with concern to what the noble Baroness said at the beginning of her speech. I ...

Baroness O'Cathain | 724 c911 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have listened avidly to the discussion about Cornwall. As somebody who came to this coun...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c932-3 (Link to this contribution) I will speak very briefly on this amendment because I have spoken quite a few times about the Ruther...

Lord Tyler | 724 c938-9 (Link to this contribution) I yield to no one in my pride at my Cornish ancestry. I am a direct descendant of Bishop Jonathan Tr...

Lord Colwyn | 724 c937 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I must put the Question before the debate proceeds. Is the noble Lord, Lord Myners, moving...

Lord Rennard | 724 c927 (Link to this contribution) I think, speaking for most Lords present, that we would be happy if we dealt seriously with the deba...

Lord Harris of Haringey | 724 c870 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, we owe my noble friend Lady Morgan of Huyton a debt of gratitude for introducing this grou...

Lord McAvoy | 724 c895 (Link to this contribution) Is this more intimidation? Will my noble friend take the advice of the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde,...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c917 (Link to this contribution) That exactly proves my point. The people of Ayrshire did not really care very much which constituenc...

Lord Strathclyde | 724 c918 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to be interrupted on that. I understand my noble friend’s point plainly. The point that h...

Lord Fowler | 724 c948 (Link to this contribution) 89: Clause 11, page 10, line 30, at end insert— ““Isle of Wight 6A (1) All parts of the Isle of Wigh...

Subjects

Boundary commissions

Constituency size

Constituencies

Cornwall

Cumbria

Isle of Wight

Members

Location

Public inquiries

Scotland

Tyne and Wear

Ynys Môn

Argyll and Bute

South Lanarkshire

Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Orkney and Shetland

Legislation

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-12

Link

View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk