Recall of MPs Bill

Debate between Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 24th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Zac Goldsmith]

No, I did not. I was not aware that I was supposed to. Perhaps I will be recalled under the new mechanism that the right hon. Gentleman is proposing.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

The point has been made. Normally, it is good practice to let people know if you are going to name them. I am sure that it was not done intentionally.

[Zac Goldsmith]

I do apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker; it is not a convention that I was aware of, and it certainly was not intentional.

The Deputy Prime Minister has formally opposed, on the record, real recall six times in this House. Then, as the pressure for proper recall began to rise earlier this year, he clearly felt it. He told his LBC listeners:

“Zac and I are completely at one. I actually have no objection at all to the kind of radical California style recall that he likes.”

The real problem, he added, is that

“It has absolutely no hope…of being passed into law because of profound objections from conservative colleagues.”

Of course, when it came to a vote—a free vote for the coalition, if not for the Labour party—his party trooped as one through the No Lobby, against real recall.

In the last debate on recall, Members were asked to trust voters to hold them to account, and a majority declined, sadly. I genuinely believe that the establishment’s refusal to share power means that ultimately, it will lose that power. However, the result was clear and for that reason I have not tabled any new amendments. It was clear that the House as it is today is not ready for proper recall, and I would be wasting the House’s time if I rehearsed all those arguments and re-tabled those amendments.

However, there is some good news. In an impassioned speech, a Scottish National party MP—the name of his constituency is so complicated that it is a disincentive to quote him, so I will not. [Hon. Members: “Western Isles.”] Is that right? So that is what we call it in English. I was not aware of that. I was going to attempt the native version, and I am afraid that I would have got it wrong. Nevertheless, in an impassioned speech, the hon. Gentleman said that even if reform were rejected by the House, it was inevitable, and he was right. Prospective parliamentary candidates up and down the country from all the parties—Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative and the rest—are positioning themselves against the incumbents on the basis of where they stand on recall.

National Pollinator Strategy

Debate between Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 16th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Zac Goldsmith]

On the point about over-reliance on industry data, which we might call contaminated data, a piece was recently written in The Times by Lord Ridley. He claimed that the neonicotinoid ban means that 50% of oil seed rape crops have been devastated, because they have not been protected. However, figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs only a few days ago show that the loss of yield is about 1.35%, which is well within the bounds of ordinary seasonal and annual fluctuations. That very clearly illustrates the danger of relying too much on industry data. Lord Ridley takes the industry or big business line on almost every issue, but I think we should be very cautious about attaching too much importance—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I think the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) has got the message.

Amendments to Bills (Explanatory Statements)

Debate between Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 6th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Zac Goldsmith]

I give way to the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. One at a time. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman wants to respond to the hon. Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) first.

[Zac Goldsmith]

My hon. Friend makes an interesting observation. It would be a beautiful irony and I would love to see it happen.

Procedure Committee Reports

Debate between Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 13th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Zac Goldsmith]

So it requires the Government to— I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention on my intervention.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I think that we will have the debate carried out through the Chair.

[Zac Goldsmith]

My apologies, Mr Deputy Speaker. Does the hon. Lady agree that this should be a requirement on anyone tabling an amendment in order to boost slightly the chances of people having some idea of what they are voting on when they go through the Lobby? I absolutely concur with her view that most people have no idea what they are doing when they vote.

Sustainable Livestock Bill

Debate between Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and Lindsay Hoyle

Friday 12th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park) (Con)]

Given what has been said about the Bill by a number of Members, including my hon. Friend, does he acknowledge that it has, in fact, had support from a very wide range of farming organisations that have not been named? They include Farm, the Family Farmers Association, the Small Farms Association, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, the Soil Association and the National Trust—which, I accept, is not a farming organisation, but it has an interest.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. Interventions must be short and contain a question.

[Zac Goldsmith]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I would like an acknowledgement that not only environmental groups but very many farmers organisations are enthusiastically backing this Bill and supporting it all the way.