House of Lords (Cessation of Membership) Bill [HL]

Lord Steel of Aikwood Excerpts

Tuesday 24th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, as is usual in these matters, I shall now read the following. I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the House of Lords (Cessation of Membership) Bill, has consented to place her prerogative and interest, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.

[Lord Steel of Aikwood]

My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a third—and, I dearly hope, final—time.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, very briefly, on behalf of the whole House, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Steel, for his perseverance in taking this Bill through. We shall have to see what happens in the other place. Does the noble Lord think that his Bill just might be part of the answer to the Government’s problem on Lords reform?

[Lord Steel of Aikwood]

It is above my pay grade to answer that. I hope that it might be but we shall wait and see. In the mean time, like the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, on the previous occasion when we debated this, I quote Aristotle:

“Politics is the art of the possible”.

This item is possible. Let us get on with it and pass it to the House of Commons.

Bill passed and sent to the Commons.