House of Lords Reform Bill [HL]

Lord Steel of Aikwood Excerpts

Friday 21st October 2011 Lords Chamber

Moved By

[Lord Steel of Aikwood]

That it be an instruction to the Committee of the Whole House to which the House of Lords Reform Bill has been committed that they consider the Bill in the following order:

Clauses 10 to 19, Clauses 1 to 9.

[Lord Steel of Aikwood]

My Lords, I find it difficult to recall that this Bill was first debated in this House four years ago in July 2007. I cannot help feeling that it is time we got on with it. We have a great opportunity today to proceed with the Committee stage.

The reason for the Motion is that I have agreed to withdraw Part 1 of the Bill—that is, Clauses 1 to 9 —dealing with the statutory appointments commission. There are two reasons for doing so—one of principle and one of practicality. The one of principle is simply this: that I would like to attract as supporters of the Bill both those who think that the Bill is necessary and sufficient and, to quote my noble friend Lord Norton, those who think it is necessary but wholly insufficient. We will in due course get to a point where the House has to choose, in the Government’s own paper, between an 80 per cent elected House and a 100 per cent elected House. The position on this side of the House is that we, the Liberal Democrats, support 100 per cent and the Conservative Party supports 80 per cent. If that view were to prevail, then of course the provisions for a statutory appointments commission are already in draft in the Government’s own Bill and, in the mean time, we can retain our confidence in the non-statutory Appointments Commission under the noble Lord, Lord Jay. That is the point of principle.

The point of practicality is that one can see on the Order Paper that, of the 160 amendments the Bill has attracted, three-quarters of them are to the section of the Bill on the appointments commission. I submit that we would be wasting our time on a Friday debating endless amendments to a part of the Bill that we do not propose to proceed with. That is why it makes sense to change the order of the debate so that we can proceed immediately with the three principal issues of the Bill: first, the hereditary by-elections; secondly, retirement from the House; and, thirdly, removing serious law breakers. I believe that by 3 o’clock, with good will and with the overwhelming view of the House, we can pass the Bill to Report stage and satisfy also the demands of the Constitution Committee of the other place. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Steel of Aikwood]

My Lords, I am persuaded by my own arguments. On the point of alleged discourtesy, we have a saying in Scotland, “I didn’t come up the Clyde on a bike”. I know perfectly well that if I had tabled this Motion earlier in the week we would have had hundreds more amendments tabled to the parts of the Bill which the House wishes to get on with. I propose that we proceed to the vote.