Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
Steel Import Restrictions
How many job losses will there be in the steel-using industries in the United Kingdom as a result of the new higher tariffs?
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Supermarkets: Voluntary Price Caps
Will the Minister congratulate the supermarkets on being competitive, with good prices, despite all the costs the Government are imposing on them? Does he agree that their net profit margins are very low, showing that the problem of rising food prices rests elsewhere?
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address
Why has there has such a long delay in the publication of basic materials, such as Lord Mandelson’s application and his declaration of interests, which are of great interest to everyone but surely cannot pose any difficulties?
Lords
Proceedings
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Middle East: Economic Update
In Washington, the Chancellor pledged to avoid unnecessary trade restrictions. Can we look forward to the Government cancelling the bad idea of introducing a large carbon border tax or tariff, which would be a penalty on British consumers and a further boost to costs, making British industry less co…
Tariff free!
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
I do not quite recognise the noble Lord’s description that the four refineries in this country are at risk. Those are very large and stable refineries. As he knows, they continue to refine the forms of crude coming into the UK into petrol and other fuel products. Those refineries are set up to provi…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
27 April 2026
Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, as somebody who lives in Devon, I look forward to a long period of the cream teas of the noble Earl, Lord Devon, for which he will regrettably have more time to produce as a result of the delinking of the hereditary peerage and the legislative process of this country.
I listened carefully…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Steel Sector
The Government remain in positive and constructive conversations with Jingye. I know that the noble Lord would not expect me to comment on the specifics of that deal. All I can say is that we are hoping for a positive outcome. The real importance for us is ensuring that we have a steel industry that…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
21 April 2026
Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 (Amendment) Order 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing this order. As she has set out, it is a sensible and largely technical measure that would bring the law on ministerial and officeholder salaries in line with the current practice of excluding Permanent Secretary salaries from the calculation of annual s…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 April 2026
Electricity: Domestic Pricing
Imposing an extra windfall tax, on those elements of the system that are within the renewables orbit but outside the CfD arrangements, takes away the excess profits that those elements make as a result of being aligned with gas in charging those volatile prices. So it is a very sensible thing to do,…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Trains: Punctuality
The noble Lord needs to get up to speed with the history of HS2, because it has been comprehensively mismanaged by every Government who have had anything to do with it, and by the board and, sadly, by the management of the company that is building it. This Government have faced the most enormous tas…
Lords
Debate
14 April 2026
Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill
My Lords, I am delighted to add my support to this Bill. As with all new arrivals, I have had to learn a great deal from scratch about the workings of this House—right from the first day, when, on the occasion of my introduction, I very nearly forgot to shake the Lord Speaker’s hand on my way out of…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Rail Freight
How right the noble Lord is. The digital signalling programme for the east coast main line does absolutely as he describes, which is to give more capacity on the existing track. It is in train; as far as I know, it is on target and on budget for the south end of the east coast main line. It is subsc…
Lords
Proceedings
26 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
My Lords, the Government say that they will directly reduce food bills by joining the EU SPS. Can the Minister give us a forecast of how much cheaper food is going to be? It certainly never worked when we were in the EU and it is a very complicated and expensive scheme.
Lords
Oral Questions
25 March 2026
Fuel Supplies: War in Iran
The noble Lord will not be surprised to hear that I do not agree with his analysis of why the two refineries that have closed in the UK have done so, but the four refineries that we have in the UK are all producing well and in a robust condition. The Government will continue to monitor that process,…
Lords
Committee Stage
25 March 2026
2 contributions
Northern Ireland After Brexit (Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee Report)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Redwood, although I do not agree with absolutely everything that he said. It is a pleasure too to take part in today’s debate and to resume that focus on Northern Ireland that I had as chairman of the Sub-Committee of the European Affairs Com…
The noble Lord, who has been a Member of the other place and only recently of your Lordships’ House, will be aware better than me that I am not in a position to give any detail of ongoing negotiations while they are currently ongoing. The noble Lord will be aware that the impact on Northern Ireland …
Lords
Proceedings
17 March 2026
Spring Forecast Statement
My Lords, the Economist magazine got it right about the Chancellor’s speech on the spring forecast. It said that the Chancellor
“did not announce a single major policy decision that will help Britain break out of its malaise”.
The malaise is the OBR’s bleak forecasts for economic growth over the c…
Lords
Debate
17 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
My Lords, is it the Government’s case that Lord Mandelson misled them to get the appointment? Can the Minister give us a couple of examples of what he said to fool the Prime Minister?
Lords
Debate
12 March 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
I welcome strongly the Government’s decision to abolish the two-child limit. Scrapping it remains the single most effective step that we are taking to reduce child poverty in this country.
As we have heard, abolishing the policy will lift about 450,000 children out of poverty by 2030. When combined…
Lords
Proceedings
11 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
I thank the Minister for his support for our Armed Forces. Has this action, which relies to some extent on aircraft operating out of Diego Garcia, persuaded the Government that it would be a very bad idea to give the freehold of this base to a friend of China and to take the risks with a non-nuclear…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 March 2026
Foreign Direct Investment
If anything is clear from the past couple of weeks, it is that energy sovereignty and controlling our own destiny when it comes to energy is critical. The macro environment and geopolitics are regrettable and unfortunate. They bring pressures on our energy, but security and the commitment we have ma…