(2 years, 1 month ago)
Lords ChamberI can assure the noble Lord that the new system will not be switched on and up and running until there is that user confidence in it, which goes to his point.
My Lords, why is the system restricted to Great Britain and not extended to the nation as a whole?
I do not know the answer to that question. I have been focusing on England and Wales, but I shall get an answer to the noble Lord.
(5 years, 7 months ago)
Lords ChamberI will not only confirm that but thank the noble Baroness for all the work she has done on this. She has challenged me on this for probably the past three years. I hope that she and I together will get there.
In the context of this draft Bill, can the Minister confirm that she welcomes contributions from noble Lords who want direct rule in Northern Ireland?
That would be a matter for each noble Lord to articulate. We do not wish to see direct rule in Northern Ireland; we wish for an Executive to be re-established. It would be a terribly retrograde step to go back to direct rule in Northern Ireland. I think that the point the noble Lord is making is about imposing law in Northern Ireland without legislative consent—and we do not wish to do that.
(6 years, 10 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy noble friend is right. That is clearly one of the expectations we have in our policy on Hamas.
My Lords, the Question refers to the international frontiers of Israel. Do those frontiers include the Golan Heights and east Jerusalem?
My Lords, the noble Lord is straying into Foreign Office territory, on which I am not yet an expert. I shall have to get back to him on that, if that is okay.