Queen's Speech

My Lords, I am aware of that. I am particularly impressed that those questions were aimed at thos...

My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that he is now withdrawing the definition of consensus tha...

No, my Lords. However, I think that my explanation of a consensus was misunderstood. Any student ...

My Lords, unless I misheard him, my noble friend appears to have produced a new definition of con...

No, my Lords. It would be very nice to have a consensus between the three Front Benches. I think ...

I am interested in what the noble Lord said about consensus and take account, particularly, of wh...

My Lords, we have not taken a final view on the Joint Committee’s report and proposals. We are wo...

The Leader seems to be making great play with his accusation that the Labour Party is not united ...

My Lords, the noble Lord forgets that he and I have been debating this issue for very many years,...

My noble friend has just said that there has never been consensus in the Conservative Party and t...

That is the point: the commitment was to build consensus across the parties to see whether Parlia...

However, there was consensus—on any of the noble Lord’s definitions—in relation to the Steel Bill...

My Lords, the only Bill emanating from my noble friend Lord Steel that has passed through this Ho...

It is a great pleasure to intervene in the noble Lord’s remarkable speech this morning. The issue...

My Lords, the noble Lord has responded to my invitation to speak with clarity. Labour will suppor...

I will tell the Leader where it has come from. We want to make the primacy of the elected House a...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, was a distinguished Minister with the previous Administrat...

I wonder whether the noble Lord has forgotten the establishment of the committee under the chairm...

I am well aware of that, but it is pretty rum that the report from the noble Lord, Lord Cunningha...

The Leader of the House has not yet mentioned another little time bomb that is ticking away—a com...

The noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, refers to the West Lothian question. The noble and learned Lord, Lo...

The noble Lord is entertaining the House with a fascinating speech, but could he say whether, wer...

My Lords, I have no problem with the primacy of the House of Commons as it stands and I am very k...

My Lords—

No, I am not giving way to the noble Lord again; let me finish. The noble Lord will make a speech...

No!

This is the last intervention I will take from the noble Lord.

The Leader did not answer my question, which is a very important one. Let us suppose that the Wes...

My Lords, perhaps if the Labour Party had considered these issues in 1997, 1998 and 1999, we woul...

I am most grateful to the Leader for giving way. However, on reflection, does he not consider it ...

My Lords, I do not think that it was particularly candid of me to express a view that there was n...

My Lords, before the noble Lord the Leader of the House sits down, may I ask him a question not a...

My Lords, I very much look forward to hearing the noble Baroness’s speech, when she will be able ...

My Lords, that was a remarkable speech by the noble Lord the Leader of the House. It was a remark...

Ah!

It is worth waiting for, my Lords.

Let us pick up the point made by my noble friend Lord Fo...

That is an interesting statement. Would we be right to conclude from it that, unless those condit...

We will have to see what is in the Bill.

Oh!

My Lords, we will of course have to see what is in the Bill. With the greatest respect to the nob...

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his patience. Anyone listening to his previous statement woul...

I am slightly confused. The noble Lord asked me whether the Labour Party would support the Bill. ...

I thank the noble Lord for giving way and I understand the importance of the issue to which he ha...

That is a very helpful suggestion. One way or another with two elected Houses, whatever is in the...

Is it still the official position of the Labour Party that it favours a 100%-elected House? If so...

My Lords, we are in favour of a 100%-elected House. We debated hybridity last week. Our view on a...

I have listened to the noble Lord’s very important and interesting speech. Does it follow from hi...

My Lords, it is an interesting idea. If we face huge constitutional change in the affairs of the ...

Perhaps I may give my noble friend another example. We did not develop this matter in the Joint C...

I agree with the noble Lord. He is absolutely right. Of course, this is not new. One has only to ...

My Lords, for the last 20 minutes or so, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, has been busil...

Does the noble Lord not agree that the membership of this House is a great deal more representati...

My Lords, I wish it were so, but I am afraid that the latest analysis shows that it is not, parti...

My Lords, I wish to do no disservice to the other place whatever, but the noble Lord should not d...

My Lords, I do not think that I need respond to that. I accept and have great respect for the nob...

My Lords, it is entirely appropriate that the debate on the humble Address should begin on consti...

My Lords, I am delighted to respond. The noble Lord will recall that in the cross-party talks whi...

I am most grateful to the noble Lord. Therefore, before we go, perhaps we may just make a contrib...

My Lords, could the noble Lord elaborate on that? Are we to take it from what he has said that, i...

My Lords, that is a very important question. My own view is that I would like to see both Houses ...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure for me to follow the Convenor of the Cross Benches. I have alway...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for allowing me to acknowledge the excellence of his ro...

It is another story as to why the noble Lord did not get anywhere with it. I will not bore the Ho...

Would the noble Lord care to make a comment in his search for consensus on the original Bill of t...

I will be frightfully indiscreet and say that if I were still in charge of business management, I...

My Lords, unlike some other speakers, I think that constitutional affairs merit parliamentary tim...

My Lords, I welcome the fact that we are having a discussion at the beginning of the Queen’s Spee...

Does the noble Lord think that if Scotland rejected independence but some form of what has come t...

I think there is a need to recognise that all the constituent nations and, for that matter, regio...

I think the noble Lord was just about to come on to my question. There has already been quite a l...

I certainly want to see the convention being fully representative. Maybe it would operate differe...

Does the noble Lord not think it interesting and disappointing that we heard from the noble Lord,...

I agree with what the noble Lord says about a federal solution probably being best. However, it w...

My Lords, having listened to the debate so far, and thinking back over the discussions about this...

I hesitate to keep intervening, as I have had my say already, but I am very interested in what th...

My suggestion is that we approach this in two ways. The big issues on constitutional aspects shou...

My Lords, the Queen’s Speech contains a number of important constitutional matters. The matter of...

I am most grateful to the noble and learned Lord for giving way. If you accept the primacy of the...

I am saying that the legislation needs to have a reason behind it. It is all very well to legisla...

I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord for giving way. Is it not possible to conceive of a d...

That is tantamount to asking that the second Chamber be elected not to exercise full democratic a...