Arrangement of Business

Baroness Young of Old Scone Excerpts

Friday 30th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

My Lords, following the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, we seem to be in the extraordinary position where the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, has now brought forward a series of large new clauses and amendments. On the one hand, he has admitted that the Bill is fundamentally flawed, yet, on the other hand, he is threatening to drive it through via the Parliament Act. Doing so would mean driving through a Bill that he now admits is fundamentally flawed and needs amendments. Am I seeing something illogical there?

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab)]

My Lords, I will make one point on behalf of silent Back-Benchers across the House. If we are not actively speaking to amendments, the only opportunity to express a view about the elements of the Bill will be when we get to vote. On the current progress, we are never going to get to that point. Personally, I feel very disenfranchised by that. I wonder whether there is a way we can get to a point where the House as a whole—every individual one of us—can express a view, in order for us not to be disenfranchised.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

I am sad to add to the list of requests to the Chief Whip. I was saddened to hear the allegation on the “Today” programme that those opposing the Bill are just a random group of religiously motivated people. It is not how I have ever been treated as a Christian in this House.

That came on the back of questioning, covered by parliamentary privilege, of the representative of the British Association of Social Workers. The representative was chosen by the professional body to come to us. He faced questioning from one of the members of our Select Committee, who basically said to him— I summarise—“Do you have a right to put your views on others, as a vicar?” In any other forum, that would have been a breach of the Equality Act, had there not been parliamentary privilege. Can the Chief Whip look at the Code of Conduct to see whether these lazy allegations—that, somehow, religiously motivated people might also just be ignorant—should not be made on the “Today” programme or in the questioning of witnesses in a Select Committee of your Lordships’ House?