Progression of Bills through Parliament

Debate between Alan Campbell and Pete Wishart

Monday 8th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Dr Chowns]

I thank the Leader of the House for allowing me to clarify my point. My point is not about the specific content of the Bill; it is about the constitutional crisis caused its blockage. Is it really okay that the only way out of that is to wait for another private Member’s Bill? Is there a role in ensuring that it comes through the Commons?

[Pete Wishart (in the Chair)]

Order.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Thank you, Mr Wishart.

I am sorry if it was not explicit, but implicit in what I said was that I think the Lords need to reflect on what they have done. [Interruption.] Hang on. The stakes are quite high and we need to be careful that the conventions and rules in place are being used properly, so that the trust that we want to see is engendered in our political system. I want to address something else: the constant theme that, despite however many hundreds of Lords there are, there was a cabal—a handful of people—in the House of Lords who somehow managed to hijack this process and stop it all.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The hon. Gentleman says that that is exactly what happened. There have been five private Members’ Bills and one amendment on this matter in the House of Lords. They did not go anywhere. That was not because the person proposing them at the time did not believe that they had merit. That person did not push them because they did not think there was support in the House of Lords.

We can pick whichever side we want on this issue. We have talked all afternoon about how the issue was never tested. My hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) explained why it was never tested. Members can say, “Oh, it was never tested. We do not know.” If I wanted to, I could argue that it was never tested and we do not know either. We do not know whether there was a majority in the House of Lords for the Bill. Let us just be careful before we go out chasing those arguments.

I will conclude because I want to leave my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central some time. Business managers made it clear that had the Bill returned from the Lords before the end of the Session, the Government would have sought to provide time to consider changes. As I have already said, the Lords play an important role in scrutinising legislation, but it is clear that people do not view the Commons and the Lords as being in isolation from each other. The actions of each House directly impact on the perceptions of this place more broadly. It is about what my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central described as a question of trust. I am sure that Members of both Houses will wish to reflect on that and ensure that the actions of one House do not detrimentally affect the other.

I am sure that this debate will continue. I welcome that because at its heart is a Bill of profound importance to many of us, whatever side we sit on. It is also a debate of profound importance when it comes to the relationship between the elected House and the upper House. I am sure the debate will continue.

[Pete Wishart (in the Chair)]

Mr Atkinson, as you can see you have two and a half minutes.

Business of the House

Debate between Alan Campbell and Pete Wishart

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I will certainly draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of the relevant Minister. The payroll contract was signed following a robust 12-month procurement process, but it was undertaken prior to the recent issues with Capita’s administration of the civil service pension scheme. Whether it is pensions or payroll, our priority is to ensure that we get continuity of service and value for money for the public.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) (SNP)]

Can we have a debate about the rise of the far right across the whole UK? There is barely a constituency in the country that is not touched by its poison, hate and misinformation as it tries to continue to divide our communities, but on Saturday we fight back. The Together Alliance—an alliance of political parties, trade unions and cultural organisations—will take to London’s streets with the message of love, hope and unity in what will be the biggest ever march against the far right we have ever seen. I am pretty sure that the Leader of the House will want to wish this endeavour well, and maybe we will even see him along with us on Saturday.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is important that people make their voices heard with their concerns about the far right. It is important that we stand up to the division that the far right seeks to bring not just to our local communities, but to our nation, particularly in the run-up to local elections. It is important that we expose not only that, but—where the far right is present in local government—its record, which is invariably appalling.

Business of the House

Debate between Alan Campbell and Pete Wishart

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Absolutely, the council should do that as a matter of urgency. It is a gross discourtesy to a Member of this House for any council not to take these matters seriously enough. It seems that we are not just criticising Reform councils on these matters; we are now quite rightly condemning Conservative councils. Where they are not listening to their residents, they should listen. As I said in my previous answer, a record amount is going in from Government to fix potholes. The money must be used effectively so that our constituents see those benefits. I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this matter to the House, and I encourage her local Conservative council to listen to her important contribution and the views of their community, and to get back to her with the information that she rightly seeks.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) (SNP)]

It is absolutely right that student debt has been one of the main focuses this week. Students are graduating with an average debt of £53,000. That simply is an appalling and debilitating financial burden at the start of their working lives. But the Leader of the House will know that this is not the story in the whole of the UK; in Scotland, under the SNP policy of free tuition, students graduate with an average debt of £17,990—a third of what students graduate with in England. Will he ensure that that is pointed out when this issue is debated and student debt is referenced? I have heard about U-turns on student debt. If those happen, will he encourage his Ministers to look at the Scottish system of free education and ensure that graduates in England have the same opportunities as graduates in Scotland?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, we inherited the current system from the previous Government. They designed it, they delivered it and they caused the problems that are there now. We are trying to put them right. We have made changes to try to make it fairer. We continue to look at ways of doing that, and we will look at examples wherever they happen to be. We are focused not just on that, but on improving the cost of living to benefit young people. I very gently say to the hon. Gentleman that of course the situation is different in Scotland, because money is available to put into it. I would simply ask him where the money comes from. We have put a record funding settlement into Scotland, and it is up to them how they use it, but I am afraid the idea that there is a magic money tree in Scotland is from his imagination.