It is a pleasure to speak on the Second Reading of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill and to follow so many excellent contributions from Members across the House. They have all provided examples, most of which I have experienced in my eight and a half years in this place.

For...

It is a pleasure to speak on the Second Reading of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill and to follow so many excellent contributions from Members across the House. They have all provided examples, most of which I have experienced in my eight and a half years in this place.

For...

Sacha from Kempston, Bedford, is one of an increasing number of freeholders who are afflicted by estate maintenance charges. Will the Secretary of State commit to a review into the role of those excessive, unpredictable and often opaque fees and insurance costs that not only treat mostly new homeowners as cash cows, but are putting their homes at risk?

Sacha from Kempston, Bedford, is one of an increasing number of freeholders who are afflicted by estate maintenance charges. Will the Secretary of State commit to a review into the role of those excessive, unpredictable and often opaque fees and insurance costs that not only treat mostly new homeowners as cash cows, but are putting their homes at risk?

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath for initiating this debate. There are three factors which will ensure that the NHS survives, and the Minister has no control over any of them: finance, social care and decently funded local government. The NHS Confederation has said...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath for initiating this debate. There are three factors which will ensure that the NHS survives, and the Minister has no control over any of them: finance, social care and decently funded local government. The NHS Confederation has said...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer, and it is lovely to swap roles, given the other jobs we hold. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this debate. He is truly such a good man, as I think everyone in this...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer, and it is lovely to swap roles, given the other jobs we hold. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this debate. He is truly such a good man, as I think everyone in this...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the case of bluetongue virus in a cow in Kent on (a) biosecurity and (b) animal health.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the case of bluetongue virus in a cow in Kent on (a) biosecurity and (b) animal health.

It is good to see you in the Chair again, Mr Deputy Speaker. Islanders sometimes ask me what the purpose of these debates is, and the answer is simple: they are occasions for me, as the Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight, to raise issues of importance for...

It is good to see you in the Chair again, Mr Deputy Speaker. Islanders sometimes ask me what the purpose of these debates is, and the answer is simple: they are occasions for me, as the Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight, to raise issues of importance for...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his uber efficiency in organising such a trip. My Speedos will be dusted off—don’t get excited, Mr Deputy Speaker—and I hope to share a 99 with him at some bracing seaside venue. In sincerity, I am grateful to my hon. Friend and...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his uber efficiency in organising such a trip. My Speedos will be dusted off—don’t get excited, Mr Deputy Speaker—and I hope to share a 99 with him at some bracing seaside venue. In sincerity, I am grateful to my hon. Friend and...

We could have a separate debate on a single income tax and all sorts of other measures. I would like to see tax transparency as well. I am so old-fashioned that I think we should be able to follow every pound of Government expenditure, and that there should be far...

We could have a separate debate on a single income tax and all sorts of other measures. I would like to see tax transparency as well. I am so old-fashioned that I think we should be able to follow every pound of Government expenditure, and that there should be far...

December 2020 marked one hundred years since the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (“the 1920 Act”) received Royal Assent. This partitioned the island of Ireland – part of the United Kingdom since 1801 – and created what is still known as “Northern Ireland”.

As the historian Ivan Gibbons has written, the 1920 Act was “the single most important piece of British legislation of the twentieth century relating to Ireland in that it established a new constitutional and political arrangement (devolved government and partition) which exists to this day”.

The focus of this paper are the constitutional aspects of the 1920 Act and the role of UK Parliament. It is not intended as a general history of Northern Ireland. The passage of the 1920 Act marked the beginning of a process rather than a single event. From 1921 until the introduction of Direct Rule in 1972, what many considered the “constitution of Northern Ireland” underwent significant changes. It was also contested, for the 1920 Act never achieved cross-community consent.

Yet a lot of Northern Ireland’s early history has slipped from public consciousness. Events since the onset of the “Troubles” in 1969 have been extensively documented by historians, journalists and political scientists, the period prior to that less so. As another historian, Graham Walker, has observed, Northern Ireland “serves as a reminder that devolution and constitutional change has a long, complex, and fascinating history, and did not just appear magically at the end of the twentieth century”.

Some features of the 1920 Act survive: the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast; separate Consolidated and National Insurance Funds; a distinct Northern Ireland Civil Service; and a distinctive division of excepted/reserved/transferred powers. Others do not, chiefly the bicameral Parliament of Northern Ireland, its single-party Government and vice-regal Governor. The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive established by the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998 represented a deliberate break with the institutions envisaged in 1920. 

This paper is also the story of the United Kingdom as it is currently constituted, for the Northern Ireland border created by the 1920 Act has been central to constitutional debate from the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 to the Brexit controversies of 2016-21. It too evolved. Originally intended as a boundary between two devolved parts of the UK, by the end of 1922 it instead separated two parts of the British Empire. Only in 1949, when the Republic of Ireland left the British Commonwealth, did it become an international boundary.

Northern Ireland marked its centenary during 2021. It is hoped this paper will help inform the debates arising from that significant anniversary.

December 2020 marked one hundred years since the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (“the 1920 Act”) received Royal Assent. This partitioned the island of Ireland – part of the United Kingdom since 1801 – and created what is still known as “Northern Ireland”.

As the historian Ivan Gibbons has written,...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and that is a key element of my contribution to this debate.

Put plainly, a section 30 order to temporarily transfer those powers to the Scottish Parliament is entirely in the gift of Westminster. That underscores the unavoidable truth that our Parliament is...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and that is a key element of my contribution to this debate.

Put plainly, a section 30 order to temporarily transfer those powers to the Scottish Parliament is entirely in the gift of Westminster. That underscores the unavoidable truth that our Parliament is...

Let me start by saying that I have read the amendments on the Order Paper tonight, and if I could bring the hostages home and stop the fighting on the streets of Gaza, I would do it and I would do it now. But the truth is that I cannot;...

Let me start by saying that I have read the amendments on the Order Paper tonight, and if I could bring the hostages home and stop the fighting on the streets of Gaza, I would do it and I would do it now. But the truth is that I cannot;...

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made to ensure that farmers in Northern Ireland can import cow embryos from North America, as can farmers in the rest of the UK.

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made to ensure that farmers in Northern Ireland can import cow embryos from North America, as can farmers in the rest of the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide healthy alternatives to cows' milk under the Nursery Milk Scheme for children who cannot consume cow’s milk for (a) medical, (b) ethical and (c) religious reasons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide healthy alternatives to cows' milk under the Nursery Milk Scheme for children who cannot consume cow’s milk for (a) medical, (b) ethical and (c) religious reasons.

My Lords, I first thank all noble Lords for their contributions—strong, focused, passionate, thoughtful, insightful, principled and at times emotional. But one thing was clear: these were expert insights from various perspectives. As I said in my introduction, there are some uniform and united messages that leave no doubt about...

My Lords, I first thank all noble Lords for their contributions—strong, focused, passionate, thoughtful, insightful, principled and at times emotional. But one thing was clear: these were expert insights from various perspectives. As I said in my introduction, there are some uniform and united messages that leave no doubt about...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow everyone in this debate. I particularly thank the noble Earl, Lord Howe, for his measured, calm and thoughtful introduction, which will, no doubt, be followed by the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, in his usual way when he concludes. As the noble Lord,...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow everyone in this debate. I particularly thank the noble Earl, Lord Howe, for his measured, calm and thoughtful introduction, which will, no doubt, be followed by the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, in his usual way when he concludes. As the noble Lord,...

I was talking about the progress that we have made and how well we have been served by the officials. We have had experts supporting the programme board, we have had objective outsiders on it, and we have had independent assessors.

When we began, we were faced with 36 options, as...

I was talking about the progress that we have made and how well we have been served by the officials. We have had experts supporting the programme board, we have had objective outsiders on it, and we have had independent assessors.

When we began, we were faced with 36 options, as...

The hon. Member is absolutely right: if we are cowed and go into the darkness, the bigots win. In an interesting article, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that the US Christian right, militant European Catholics, Russian Orthodox hardliners and even sanctioned oligarchs are working concerted campaigns to undermine reproductive...

The hon. Member is absolutely right: if we are cowed and go into the darkness, the bigots win. In an interesting article, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that the US Christian right, militant European Catholics, Russian Orthodox hardliners and even sanctioned oligarchs are working concerted campaigns to undermine reproductive...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hollick, for precipitating this debate. I declare an interest as a member of the Industry and Regulators Committee and as a farmer who holds some irrigation licences.

As you will see from the report our committee published on 23 September, to...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hollick, for precipitating this debate. I declare an interest as a member of the Industry and Regulators Committee and as a farmer who holds some irrigation licences.

As you will see from the report our committee published on 23 September, to...

With permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement on how this Government are improving the journeys that matter most to the British public.

Our path to net zero remains ambitious, but we are making that path more proportionate. We are backing Britain’s drivers and slamming the brakes on...

With permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement on how this Government are improving the journeys that matter most to the British public.

Our path to net zero remains ambitious, but we are making that path more proportionate. We are backing Britain’s drivers and slamming the brakes on...