North Korea
Lord Campbell of Alloway Excerpts(12 years ago)
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Lord Campbell of Alloway
Is it not the wish of the Government now to consult with America and China on how to deal with this situation? We cannot deal with it single-handed.
Baroness Warsi
My noble friend is right. This is not a matter which the UK would seek to deal with in any way single-handedly.
UK Industry: International Competitiveness
Lord Campbell of Alloway Excerpts(12 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Campbell of Alloway
My Lords, I also thank my noble friend Lord Jenkin for spreading a breath of fresh air and confidence about our domestic arrangements. This debate also enables objective consideration to be given to how to resolve the eurozone crisis which inhibits growth of the economy, inward investment and exports to global markets. Last week there was a meeting at Brussels where something was proposed to be done, but it appears that nothing much was explained save in the Sunday Telegraph, where it said that the first step had been taken and there were others to be taken. It did not explain, and no one knows, the nature of these steps, how many there are or what form of delay they might put on implementation of a resolution of the crisis. No one seems to know. Indeed, on Monday the Leader of this House repeated a Statement on the EU Council but there was not a word about this. He did not know. It is impossible to consider that if he had known he would not have told the House. There is no reference to this in the Library notes and looking through the press I have found no other reference to it.
It cannot be assumed, certainly as yet, that this crisis will be resolved, because all other means of implementation to resolve this crisis introduced in the past by the Council of Ministers have failed and created a very unfortunate position. We are in that position now; we have come to a state of affairs where we have unpredictable improbables. All that can be done is for the Council of Ministers to take emergency action immediately and not leave things lying in the hope that something will happen, because nothing will happen. At the moment we are somewhat reliant on what can be done with the improbables. I shall not take much time because we cannot really resolve that. Even the Government do not seem to know what the substance of the situation is. I suggest that the Council of Ministers must negotiate and in their negotiations construct an acceptable system. And an acceptable system is not necessarily one which involves state payments to be under federalist control within the remit of the Lisbon treaty.
What should be done in this state of affairs to which nobody else has referred but which warrants consideration? There is the idea that we shall have a new relationship treaty with the Common Market. That has been suggested by my noble friend Lord Howell of Guildford, who opposed the Lisbon treaty. He opposed it to forestall the drift towards federalisation and to produce an acceptable commercial Common Market. With that on the books, whatever the Council of Ministers does—and it must do it at once—must be temporary, emergency action. It should then be reconsidered at another conference about another system and another relationship.
To conclude, there is also the question of the referendum. At this stage, in this situation, it is premature. It is impossible to say what there will or will not be or even to construct the words that should be used. This will be a matter for further consideration in future on the question of a new treaty. Personally, if one is allowed to say it, I am not very keen on referendums. I think it is better that the views of the people are dealt with at a general election by the parties. I hope that that will be the case.
Queen’s Speech
Lord Campbell of Alloway Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Campbell of Alloway
My Lords, I apologise to the House and to my noble friend Lord Howell because I had to attend to a puncture on my car while he was addressing the House.
This will not be a very long speech. I am really concerned with the position that was taken on the origins of the gracious Speech, the debate on which is being concluded today. It created a torrent of dissent, not only in my party, but also among the loyal Opposition and the Cross Benches. It concerned imposing a Government who would abolish this House, curtail the primacy of the other place and assuredly destroy the relationship established between our two Houses. Inevitably, that will cause dissent.
I am not criticising any particular person and certainly not the Leader of the House. By mentioning it today, I am seeking to ask the other place to consider retracking this coalition. At the moment it is not effective.
The voices and votes of people who support the coalition were not heard at all—certainly not the other day in the council elections. If one looks carefully, one realises that the coalition does not reflect anything that the electorate particularly want. In fact, they rather object to it. I take that as my theme today. I know that it will be thought that I am criticising the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, but I am not. I have to make this clear because it may be taken that way, but that is not my intention.
One could go a little further because this is a debate on defence. My question relates to this. Defence of the realm is not something that just happens today; it happens for quite a time ahead. Foreign affairs are the same. They should both take fair precedence on government expenditure. However, they are both dependent on the state of the economy—and the state of the economy is and has been for some time a stalemate. This is relevant to adequate provision for defence and foreign affairs, which all relate to government expenditure.
There is not much that I wish to say beyond that. An amendment to the Motion was tabled yesterday by the Opposition. It made some points that I would like to make today. One is that there are no settled means of providing growth for the economy—none. There is no reference to them in the gracious Speech—none at all. If there is any reference to encouraging growth, there is no mention of effective means. Not only that, but there are no settled means of easing our mammoth debt. Every month we have to borrow more to pay interest on it. We are doing what we can—up to a point—but we must try to do a little more and ease the economy up. Then we will have a chance to deal with all these things.
This is the last day of debate on the gracious Speech. The Statement on the second day was something of a shock. I have made my points and I hope that the other place will help the coalition reset itself to reflect the voice of the people.
EU: December Council Meeting
Lord Campbell of Alloway Excerpts(12 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Pearson of Rannoch
My Lords, was the European Union not supposed to bring peace and—
Lord Campbell of Alloway
Is the noble Lord aware that this question of ever closer union could not be agreed at the Messina conference and could not be interpreted in the Rome treaty? As a result, a compromise amendment was made that the Court of Justice could deal with the matter, which is where we are today. We are now in the twist of a federal demand that we should remove, with other people, our residual sovereignty for imposed financial restriction, to which I personally object.
Lord Howell of Guildford
Of course, the European Court of Justice is applicable and is an instrument of the European Union treaties. Ad hoc arrangements and other co-operation arrangements that are not within the treaties would not be covered by the European Court of Justice. I was interested to see in the draft of the fiscal union treaty that is now circulating that the proposition that the ECJ should have precedence over national laws has been removed. I appreciate that my noble friend’s long-term considerations go much deeper, but it may be that here and now some of the concerns that he has expressed are being recognised.
EU: Repatriation of Powers
Lord Campbell of Alloway Excerpts(14 years ago)
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Lord Howell of Guildford
As my noble friend is getting a bit personal, I shall say that I have always been a very enthusiastic European and advocate of sensible reform of and working with the European Union so that it goes forward in a constructive way. I do not deny that, in the past, some of the overload at the centre and the extensive acquisition of competences have tended to slow down the best kind of Europeanism. I believe that in our coalition—of which, I hasten to say, I am a very junior member—we are all united in wanting a European Union that is constructive, goes forward positively and meets the challenges of the 21st century. That is what we are all working for.
Lord Campbell of Alloway
My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that we retain our residual sovereignty and that the Lisbon treaty—
