Lord Newby — Hansard — Westminster Brief

Lords Proceedings 21 May 2026

Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring

Could the noble Lord follow up that answer and explain to the House in what respects sanctions are being increased?

Lords Oral Questions 23 April 2026

Steel Sector

Energy supply and the sovereignty of our energy supply remain critical. All departments are currently looking at measures where we need to intervene in the near term to protect those industries with high energy demands, and to come up with the right practical solutions for the long term, which is ou…

Lords Debate 10 March 2026

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I much admired the speech by the noble Earl, Lord Devon, but I must say that I did not agree with him. He spoke with his wonderful customary elegance and idiosyncrasy, but I did not agree with him when he criticised the nature of the deal that has been done. This House should thank the Lea…

Lords Proceedings 29 January 2026 3 contributions

UK-EU Customs Union

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to introduce this debate. It will see a number of comings and goings. We welcome the noble Lords, Lord Doyle, Lord Docherty and Lord Pitt-Watson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Gill, and say farewell to the noble Lord, Lord Offord. For the noble Lord, Lord Doyle, the H…

My Lords, I rise with some hesitation and a great deal of gratitude to make my maiden speech in your Lordships’ House. I am acutely aware of the experience, independence of mind, and breadth and depth of knowledge that surrounds me. Last Tuesday was a sublime experience for me and my family and fri…

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Oral Questions 16 October 2025

Telegraph Media Group: Ownership

The Secretary of State’s consideration is for her alone. However, noble Lords will be aware that it is possible to have cases of this nature considered under the National Security and Investment Act if the transaction is deemed to raise national security concerns.

Lords Statutory Instrument 22 July 2025

Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2025

I thank all noble Lords who have participated for their contributions. In particular, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, for his closing remarks and for his graciousness and support. I have appreciated the conversations we have had. Like him, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Newby. I know …

Lords Debate 21 July 2025

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, the rest of the Bill and ping-pong will play out in September, I suppose, but I add my voice to those saying that the most valuable thing that will come out of the Bill is the committee which will consider the further reforms. For my part, I want the committee to go wider and deeper. I kno…

Lords Debate 9 July 2025 5 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Burns, for his amendment and the way he introduced it. He raised four very substantial issues—much more substantial than most of the issues we have spent most of the day debating. Should there be a maximum size of the House? How do we get there? How do we then …

My Lords, the noble Lord will not be surprised to know I do not agree with him. We discussed this before and my view, oft repeated, is that we should, wherever we can, proceed without legislation. We can do that with a number of the issues we are debating. As the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, pointed o…

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Lords Debate 9 July 2025 2 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I strongly support the principle behind this amendment. We have debated the concept at some length and, in my view, it is essential that we now move to a position where there is a rule that means that people who play no part after a period cease to be Members of your Lordships’ House. The …

My Lords, I declare an interest in that I have been a Member of your Lordships’ House for 28 years. I am extremely grateful to my noble friend for sparing me from the noose he is gently preparing for others. I absolutely agree with him that we need to move to a position where the House is refreshed,…

Lords Proceedings 9 July 2025

Black Rod

My Lords, when Sarah Clarke first came to be interviewed to be David Leakey’s successor, the majority view of the panel—of which I was one—was one of curiosity, but no great expectation. How could someone who was non-military and, heaven forfend, a woman, and with no public sector background, possib…

Lords Debate 2 July 2025

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I thought that the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, had summed up the situation at the end of Committee very well when he said that there was a broad agreement across the House that we needed to act on attendance, participation and retirement. I reckoned without the noble Lord, Lord Hamilton, …

Lords Debate 2 July 2025 11 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, will not be surprised that I do not agree with this amendment, for the reasons so pithily put by the noble Lord, Lord Pannick. There are a number of points with which I could take issue, but I will pick up a couple from the speech by the noble Lord, Lord Par…

My Lords, I am explaining to the House what I thought at the time, not what anybody else might think. The noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, said that the system of by-elections should not be thought to have been eccentric. The noble Lord, Lord Grocott, was very eloquent in pointing out just how eccentric…

+9 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 1 July 2025

G7 and NATO Summits

My Lords, the Statement improbably begins by discussing the Government’s woes on social security, which of course have absolutely nothing to do with its real subject matter. We welcome the Government’s U-turn there, but I do not think that this Statement is the context in which to discuss them, not …

Lords Proceedings 25 June 2025

Palace of Westminster: Restoration and Renewal

My Lords, the backdrop is that the ongoing maintenance and repair costs are £1.45 million a week; that sets the context. The House has been very clear that the QEII Centre is the preferred decant location across the three options. Work has already been undertaken by the R&R delivery authority to…

Lords Proceedings 21 May 2025

UK-EU Summit

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for repeating yesterday’s Statement. I begin by associating these Benches with the sentiments expressed in the Statement on Gaza. Recent Israeli action is indeed horrific and requires a response. Yesterday’s actions by the Foreign Secretary are welcome, but the m…