Lords
Debate
8 September 2026
Armed Forces Bill
I am glad that the noble Lord, Lord Moore, thinks there is some intellectual coherence in the Government’s approach to regionalisation, given that in the last 24 hours, they have abandoned large swathes of it, including in my part of the world. However, I understand and take on board what he says.
…
Lords
Proceedings
7 September 2026
Falkland Islands
I also join in the congratulations to the noble Baroness on her recent appointment to the Front Bench. It is extremely important that, whatever we say in this country, we say it together. I think the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, were unfortunate and an attempt to rewrite history. That is no…
Lords
Proceedings
7 September 2026
Rural Businesses: Taxation
The original Question from my noble and learned friend Lady Prentis concerned the selling of a farm, so that raises issues of probate as well. When the Minister is discussing these fiscal matters with the new Chancellor, will she also raise the blatant unfairness of the 7.75% charged by the Governme…
Lords
Proceedings
1 September 2026
Nepal: Flooding
My Lords, we all welcome what the Government are doing in terms of responding to the tragedy that has unfolded over the last few weeks in Nepal. Could the Minister take back to his colleagues in the FCDO the question of Bhutan? It shares many of the same characteristics as Nepal, but we have no perm…
Lords
Proceedings
16 July 2026
Future Capability of the Armed Forces
My Lords, it is a very great honour to follow the noble and gallant Lord. I find myself in no man’s land, squeezed between a former Chief of the Defence Staff and a valedictory Bishop, so I shall try to navigate as best I can through what could be dangerous territory.
I particularly welcome back my…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Middle East: Iran Conflict
My Lords—
My Lords, is it the case that part of this deal is going to see the release of tens of millions of dollars, which are currently blocked, back to the Iranian regime from the US and other places? If that is the case, does the Minister share my concern that, unless we watch carefully and work closely w…
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
Mindanao Earthquake
My Lords, the British people can be proud of the part we have played over the years in bringing relative peace to that part of the world. Can the Minister, though, reassure us that we will do everything we can to preserve the peace in that area in case it is knocked a bit by the recent humanitarian …
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
Access to Nature Green Paper
Will the Minister not concede that it would be self-defeating if, on the one hand, we were to encourage more people to go out and see our unrivalled countryside while, at the same time, presiding over the largest explosion of overhead power lines, up and down the country, in some of our most vulnera…
Lords
Proceedings
28 April 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
My Lords, when the Minister rehearsed his list of government initiatives and investments, he left one thing out: the issue of gas storage. Can he tell the House this afternoon how many days of gas we have in storage in the UK at the moment available to us, and what the Government are proposing to do…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
27 April 2026
Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I would like to pay a personal tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Curry of Kirkharle. Along with my sponsor, the late Lord Plumb, of Coleshill, he has long stood out as being so knowledgeable about farming and the countryside. He has given immense and dedicated service to this House over so m…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
Onshore Wind Farms
I am slightly puzzled by the noble Lord’s enunciation of that question, in that renewable wind and overhead power lines go closely together, because the overhead power lines have to deliver the power that is being generated by the renewable power sources. As for the requirement that that variable ou…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Rail Infrastructure Resilience: Storms and Floods
I absolutely recognise that. The prolonged closure after the recent flooding has meant that Network Rail’s attention has been very sharply drawn to the need for both the structures and the earthworks to be more resilient, and for the inspection process for bridges, which I referred to earlier, to be…
Lords
Debate
17 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
The noble Lord, Lord Pannick, made an extremely pertinent point about Lord Mandelson’s predecessor, Dame Karen Pierce. First, can the Minister confirm that, during the scope of this investigation, we will look at the representations the Prime Minister will have received arguing that Dame Karen shoul…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Crown Estate: Wales
The Government’s approach to burying these cables underground is well known, really, because, essentially, where we can do it, we will, in order to protect the local area. It is cheaper to put them overhead, but even if you bury them, there is still a lot of disruption to the local area with the kin…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 February 2026
Smart Motorways
The noble Lord touches on a very sensitive point. The ward in Leeds that I represented had the M1 going right through it, and all the litter on the side of the motorways was the responsibility of National Highways. It is a crucial factor, particularly where safety is involved. Given the new smart te…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 February 2026
Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
As far as I understand it, they are still serving and there is a clear view taken by this House and others about that decision to continue to serve. The Government have not put pressure on them, because that is not the way we treat judges, but given the view that comes from this House and has been e…
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Construction Industry: Timber
We need some standardised pattern books. We need a fairly extensive housebuilding programme and we must ensure that those houses are built to a minimum standard of quality. However, I take the noble Lord’s point about the importance of vernacular building in certain places. It is my understanding th…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 February 2026
2 contributions
NHS: Corridor Care
We will have the Cross Benches and then we will come to the Conservative Benches.
It is definitely the turn of the Labour Benches. Can noble Lords make up their minds quickly?
Lords
Oral Questions
27 January 2026
3 contributions
Hospitality Businesses
We will hear from the Cross Benches next, then we will go to the Conservative Benches.
Can you please decide who is going to ask a question on the Conservative Benches?
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
15 January 2026
Royal Navy: Nuclear Submarines
The noble Lord is quite right. Thousands of jobs are dependent on the nuclear deterrent in Scotland and across the UK. I often make the point around the SNP, and we see its inconsistent position with respect to nuclear weapons. I remind the noble Lord that, a few years ago, the SNP’s position was no…
Lords
Proceedings
12 January 2026
2 contributions
Iran: Protests
We will hear from the Lib Dem Benches next.
That is such an important point. As the noble Lord reminds us, our security services have done amazing things in preventing so many attempts at attacks on this country. We will not stand for it; we will take whatever measures necessary to keep everybody in this country safe. The noble Lord is talkin…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 January 2026
Heritage Craft and Building Sector
I am very aware, as the noble Lord clearly is, of the shortage of specialist thatchers. Since I have been in this role, I have learned a huge amount about the different types of techniques that are used around the country. This is one of the issues we have been talking about with the sector. I point…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 December 2025
UK Research and Innovation: Ethnic Minorities
The data for postgraduate research numbers in 2023-24 was that 74% were from white backgrounds, 9% were Asian students, 5% were black students, 5% were mixed students and 3% were students categorised as of “other” ethnic background. I think that this is a fair representation. I go back to the striki…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 December 2025
2 contributions
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference 2026
My Lords, the challenge of the review next year is to prevent the escalation, never mind the reduction, of nuclear weapons, and to ensure that there is no worrying escalation by America, China or Russia of their threats to test nuclear weapons, for example. How can we be sure that we put the process…
The noble Lord will be pleased to know that I never repeat myself. On the serious point about the DPRK, we take that challenge seriously. The DPRK announced that it had departed from the NPT in 2003. That is something that the UK and the international community dispute and do not accept. We call on …
Lords
Proceedings
24 November 2025
Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children
Last week, some of us were privileged to hear the testimony of two former Ukrainian prisoners of the Russians here in this House—we listened to their harrowing testimony. Can the Minister reassure us that in any peace deal articulated by the Americans or with the EU, the egregious infringement and a…