Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL]

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Moynihan of Chelsea (Con)]

I will do my best; I have just a little bit left. As president of the Royal Albert Hall, I think the House deserves to hear from me, as against the many who did not know.

I and so many current seat-holders have, over many years, put our hearts into making the hall and the charity a renowned success. It has been anguishing for all the hall’s members to watch misunderstanding and misinformation about the hall and its governance gain currency in this noble House. I have made an overall loss in income—not a profit—over the 30 years I have owned my seats. I made a profit for the very first time last year, partly because I spent so many evenings in this House, and I paid tax on it, of course. Many other seat-holders are the same. I feel sad that seat-holders and trustees are being so misrepresented and traduced.

I beseech noble Lords to reject this unworkable, impractical, misconceived, unreasonable, wrecking amendment and to pass the Bill unamended. Unless that is done, the Royal Albert Hall could end up badly damaged—something that this House has in its hands to prevent.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Harrington of Watford for sponsoring this Bill on behalf of the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences. He has done a tremendous job during the passage of the Bill as it worked its way through the various stages in your Lordships’ House. I also thank other noble Lords who have been involved with the Bill, notably my noble friend Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, the noble Lord, Lord Bassam of Brighton, and the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, who have all put their name to the amendment that has been tabled.

The Royal Albert Hall is a great British institution. It has hosted the world’s most celebrated and famous musicians, performers and speakers since it opened on 29 March 1871. It has seen monumental figures such as Winston Churchill, cultural icons such as Dame Shirley Bassey, and sporting events such as Britain’s first indoor marathon. It is not just the historical significance of the hall that makes it so special. To this very day, it continues to highlight the best talent from across the world. Only this week, it has hosted events ranging from classical coffee mornings to late night jazz and even “Barbie The Movie: in Concert”.

As we have just heard, all noble Lords understand and appreciate this but it is apparent that there are differences of opinion regarding the governance and ownership arrangements of the hall. When this Bill came before your Lordships’ House for Second Reading, the government response was given by my noble friend Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, who sends his apologies for not being in his place. He set out then that the Government do not customarily take a position on private Bills. Of course, the roles are now reversed: we are on this side of your Lordships’ House as His Majesty’s Official Opposition and the responsibility for responding on behalf of the Government is taken by the Minister. Although we no longer respond on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, we do not believe that it is our place to take a firm stance one way or the other.

Many important points have been raised by noble Lords and other parties on both sides of this debate. We note that some noble Lords, such as my noble friend Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, have concerns regarding the potential for a conflict of interest for the trustees of the corporation, owning, as they do, seats in the hall as their private property. It is an understandable objection that this arrangement conflicts with modern charity law, as has been noted by the Charity Commission and noble Lords. These concerns are reflected in the amendment to the Bill in my noble friend’s name and I am pleased that noble Lords have had the opportunity to discuss this in further detail.

We also understand the position of the corporation and the trustees. They face the unenviable situation of having to come to Parliament with a Bill whenever they wish to alter their administrative and managerial affairs. This is, of course, due to the corporation’s unfortunate entanglement with Parliament by virtue of its foundation by an Act of Parliament. I believe that my noble friend Lord Harrington of Watford will address both sides of the debate, and I am confident that we will be able to resolve the matters at hand in, I hope, a constructive and collaborative fashion that will be for the benefit of both the hall and all those people who enjoy its contributions to our national cultural life.