Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Lebanon: Israel Defense Forces Operations
The noble Baroness says that the only answer is to finance the Lebanese Government and the Lebanese army. This has been tried for years and has not been successful. The only successful way of dealing with, in effect, Iran in Lebanon through Hezbollah, is through military action. At what point do the…
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
Access to Nature Green Paper
My Lords, I very much welcome the Government’s attempt to encourage people to go out in green spaces and walk, particularly along rivers. Is she aware that the Thames path is now broken, in that the bridges at both Temple and Henley have been out for a number of years? To pick up the point made by t…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Higher Earners: Emigration
The Minister is right: HMRC has no idea of the number of people who have left the country with a high income. The Chartered Institute of Taxation and I have tried to find the information, but it does not exist. However, most helpfully, the Sunday Times last Sunday looked at people on the Companies H…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
World Economic Outlook: UK Growth and Inflation
The noble Lord pointed to some forecasts that are being made, but he then drew the wrong conclusion. I point him to the conflict going on in Iran: that is not a war that we started, but it will affect us. As I have already said, we went into this crisis with the economy well prepared to weather it, …
Lords
Proceedings
14 April 2026
Middle East
My Lords, the Minister will recall that Sir Keir Starmer changed his position and offered President Trump limited support when he said that British lives were at risk in the region. I think that was verbatim. The Jewish community was very shocked by that, because what he meant was British lives in t…
Lords
Proceedings
26 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
My Lords, while the Minister is not transferring to the Diplomatic Service—we would miss him greatly—there does seem to be a sense of denial in the question by the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, and the Minister’s answer. GDP is now expected to expand by just 0.7% this year, according to the OECD interim…
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I, too, support these four amendments and, had it been permitted at ping-pong, I would have added my name.
I am going to be very brief. We are all aware, through freedom of information applications, that the OBR forecasts of the impact of this Bill present us with a high degree of uncerta…
Lords
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Reducing Government Spending
My Lords, UK markets are of course affected by global developments, but it is long-standing convention that the Government do not comment on specific market movements. Because of this Government’s economic plan, we are more prepared for a more volatile world, with lower inflation and more resilient …
As I said at the outset, of course UK markets are affected by global developments but it is a long-standing convention that the Government, as an issuer in gilt markets, do not comment on specific market moves. The noble Lord will be aware that the full economic impact of the conflict will depend on…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
Companies: Online AGMs
As I mentioned earlier, we are not mandating virtual AGMs and there will be nothing to stop companies continuing to hold hybrid AGMs. Through this consultation we are clarifying the legal grey area and providing certainty about the legitimacy of hybrid AGMs where certain shareholder safeguards are i…
Lords
Proceedings
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Spring Forecast Statement
My Lords, I begin by sharing my tribute to the noble Lord, Lord St John of Bletso. I am a newcomer, so I have not had the benefit of his expertise on southern Africa. I am sorry about that because it is a region I am very optimistic about. I also share the noble Lord’s concerns about the impact of A…
Sure, but that is true only if the widow does not get a pension. My whole point is that that arrangement should be providing pensions and not providing capital sums to the widow. If the deceased does not want to place that burden on their widow—or widower: it works both ways—they have to ensure that…
Lords
Debate
5 March 2026
7 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I will speak to my amendment in this first group. Needless to say, I agree with everything my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe said from the Front Bench. This Bill is a most unfortunate Bill. It clearly has come about because the Chancellor has said to her officials, “I need £5 billion, can…
With respect, that is exactly what the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, has asked. The Minister has said that he did not say that, but he has just read it out.
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Small Businesses: VAT Threshold
Yes, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his campaigning work and raising this with me on a number of occasions. He knows that we are reviewing the online marketplace rules established under the previous Government. As part of that review, those consultations will take place. I will bring it to the …
Lords
Proceedings
2 March 2026
Middle East
My Lords, many people went to Israel to celebrate tonight the festival of Purim, which is the story of Queen Esther saving the Jewish people in Persia, somewhat ironically, instead of which they are in bomb shelters awaiting missiles to attack. They are ashamed and embarrassed, as are many people, o…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
Duty Relief Exemption: Small Parcels
Yes, I can. The noble Lord asks about goods sent from the rest of the world; the EU has only just published its legislation—sorry, it was the EU handling fee that he asks about. Although the EU has published its legislation relating to the matters I was describing previously, it has not yet publishe…
Lords
Committee Stage
24 February 2026
5 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I shall congratulate my noble friends Lady Neville-Rolfe and Lord Altrincham and the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann, on Amendments 1 and 2, then I will speak to my Amendments 3 and 16.
This Bill has a number of disadvantages to the economy and society, as it penalises pension saving and ret…
My Lords, prompted as I am by my noble friend Lord Mackinlay, may I just take a moment to remind the Committee that I am a member by qualification of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and have received very helpful briefings from it?
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Donations to Political Parties
My Lords, I rise with a profound sense of responsibility because the issue before us goes to the very heart of our constitutional settlement: the integrity of our democracy. At the moment there is a growing and deeply troubling perception that British democracy is simply on sale to the highest bidde…
Lords
Debate
4 February 2026
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, first, I need to declare my interests as a non-executive director and a board adviser to pension companies. I understand the Government’s thinking, in theory, about the anomaly, as they probably call it, of national insurance relief, but in practice, this policy will have serious negative …
Lords
Oral Questions
22 January 2026
Number Plates Intended to Defeat Enforcement Cameras
This Government and previous Governments have looked at identifying cycles on the road and concluded that it is really quite a difficult issue and would be disproportionate to the results, but the noble Lord must know that the Government are taking action about bicycle hire schemes, because their pr…
Lords
Debate
21 January 2026
Holocaust Memorial Bill
My Lords, we have had extensive debates on the Bill and I know there are strong views across the House on a whole range of issues relating to the delivery of the Holocaust memorial and learning centre. We were right to debate this important Bill in full and scrutinise its every aspect, but now we ha…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Youth Unemployment
My Lords, since May 2022, unemployment of young people has been rising. There are now almost 1 million young people not in education, employment or training. Young people face challenges such as lower skills, lack of work experience and a rise in reported health issues. In response, the Government a…
As the noble Lord knows, and as was the case under the previous Government and from the time that the Low Pay Commission was set up, we explicitly asked the commission to consider the implications on employment of recommendations around increases in the living wage. We will continue to do that so th…
Lords
Debate
15 January 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, my amendments seek to improve Clause 124. It is worth reminding ourselves that this clause seeks to amend Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986. Curiously, that section was itself amended in 2022 to allow the senior police officer to impose conditions on a march if it resulted in
“serio…
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hogan-Howe, for his contribution. I was tempted to add restaurants to the amendment, but I had already tabled it. I have instead just made a booking there. Members of the House of Lords are welcome to join me to support the restaurant.
I thank my riparian neighbour, dow…
Lords
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Iran
My Lords,
“there is a compelling case for proscribing the IRGC … what possible reason is there for the Government to delay in outlawing a terrorist organisation that threatens security both at home and abroad? ”.—[ Official Report , 29/11/23; col. 1082.]
Those are not my words; they are the words …
Lords
Debate
13 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I welcome the proposed legislation, in particular Clause 124 and Amendment 372, which would ban marches outside places of worship. Except, of course, it would not. It would empower a senior police officer to make a decision specifically if access to those places of worship is being denied …
Lords
Debate
13 January 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
Lock him up.
My Lords, I support all the amendments and will speak to a point that comes up in Amendment 378B. Because it arises in 378B, I am raising it now, but it affects the subsequent amendments in the next few groupings, particularly my amendments. It all flows from Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986.…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
Meat Labelling
We mentioned the demonstration of life protocol that is used in New Zealand, so there is no non-stun slaughter there, but it has an exception for shechita, which comes to the point that the noble Lord is making. As we discuss this issue further, clearly the issues surrounding shechita and halal kill…