11th of November 2024 My Lords, there are many things to welcome in this Budget, particularly on the spending side. I am less keen on some of the tax proposals, which seem to be mean-minded and counterproductive, such as the tax on knowledge. The spending commitments are important because they reverse the disastrous policy of … Continue reading Speech in the House of Lords – Autumn Budget 2024
House of Lords
Below is my speech on Ukraine in the House of Lords on the 25th of October. Unfortunately, time constraints forced me to leave out two bits of my argument which I will put in brackets in the text. “My Lords, I am usually put last on the speakers’ list in any debate on this topic, … Continue reading Speech in the House of Lords – Ukraine
Does the Conservative Party support or oppose the idea of hereditary peers? Most of them won’t say…
Lords reform bill is "114 years too little, too late" Scottish National Party says as Commons prepares to debate scrapping hereditary peers
“My Lords, in taking part in this debate, I must declare an interest: recently, I was a victim of the committee chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Manningham-Buller. Although this is not the kind of interest a Member is normally obliged to declare, I believe that my personal experience has given me a certain insight … Continue reading Speech in the House of Lords Conduct Committee: Code of Conduct Review – 8th of October
"'Lessons learned' is an entirely vacuous phrase if lessons aren’t being learned" warns new report after a series of deadly warnings were ignored
Lord Carlile wants the memorial to be moved away from Parliament. Since it was originally proposed costs have almost tripled
All Party Parliamentary Groups have long been seen as the 'next big scandal' in lobbying, which the new rules aim to tackle
My Lords, it is a rare privilege for us to have the Foreign Secretary wind up a debate on foreign policy in this House. Such are the quirks of politics, I suppose. I shall concentrate on one topic, and that is economic sanctions. The sanctions regime has emerged as one of the most important tools … Continue reading Speech at the Foreign Affairs debate – Tuesday 5th March 2024
New analysis sheds light on a constitutional quirk that allows a member of the House of Lords – or someone outside Parliament altogether – to become Prime Minister