Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville Excerpts

Monday 16th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Falconer of Thoroton]

The Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, the Mayor of London—those are the ones that come to mind immediately.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

I was out of the Chamber so I did not speak, but in the light of the noble and learned Lord’s response to the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, will he comment on the fact that the three referendums that he described were all done one after another—and one had the sense that the policy was being made up as they went along. Only when those three had been done were we allowed a referendum Bill itself.

[Lord Falconer of Thoroton]

I think that the referendums Bill came between those on Scotland and Wales and the London Mayor, but I may be wrong about that. However, I agree with the underlying thrust of the question. Once we started on the route of referendums we realised that we needed some principles, but those principles guided only the process for a referendum; they did not determine when there should be a referendum and when there should not. Maybe it is that issue that we now need to move on to.