Direction of Government

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord and thank him for his comments, which were in marked contrast to those of his leader, who did not think that we should have been saying some of these things. He makes a valid point, but as soon as you get into speculating about one area of the Budget or another—“Can you rule this out, can you rule that in?”—there is a problem. One of the reasons that the Government have brought the Budget forward is to limit that speculation period, so that things will be clear as soon as possible. If you listen to the interview that I heard this morning, one of the greatest problems that is affecting gilt and other markets is how much speculation happens in terms of asking the Government to rule things in or out. I hope to see the noble Lord here on 28 October, when there will be a debate in this House following the Budget, but I think the Government are right to bring it forward to avoid, as much as possible, the kind of speculation the noble Lord is talking about.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, I warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s Statement, particularly on the areas of hope, optimism and devolution. As someone from Northern Ireland, I encourage the Leader of the House to talk to the Prime Minister about ways to make the institutions in Stormont more functionable and workable and to enable growth in the local economy. With that in mind, can she discuss with him the possibility of the reform of the institutions to make them equitable and fair?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

As a former leader of her party and a former Minister in Stormont, the noble Baroness knows how complex these issues have been and how hard-fought the institutions were. As a Northern Ireland Minister myself, I remember the discussions that went on, at length, to get there. It is really important that we all work together, and I think the Prime Minister has shown his commitment to Northern Ireland by visiting Northern Ireland so early as Prime Minister. We must also work together because the institutions need to be effective. Politicians may argue about it, but the people of Northern Ireland are desperate for parties to work together, and desperate to see the organisations being as effective as possible. I can assure her that I will discuss these issues with the Secretary of State and with the Prime Minister, and with my noble friend who is the Minister for Northern Ireland in this House.