Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Nick Clegg

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I have not personally been involved in detailed discussions on those issues, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is in continuous dialogue with the authorities in Northern Ireland about them.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Under measures in the draft Wales Bill, candidates for the Welsh Assembly can stand both on the regional list and the constituency list. Therefore, in places like Swansea West a Liberal Democrat candidate can have two lots of election expenses against the sitting Assembly Member. Will the Deputy Prime Minister make sure that that does not happen?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

We have, of course, made reforms in this area already, but we will continue to keep them under review.

House of Lords Reform (Draft Bill)

Debate between Geraint Davies and Nick Clegg

Tuesday 17th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

In many respects the provisions of Lord Steel’s Bill are in part covered by the proposals that we are putting forward. For instance, one of the central planks of his Bill is that there should be an independent statutory appointments commission. That is exactly what is envisaged in this Bill. Another part of Lord Steel’s Bill provides for retirement of existing Members of the House of Lords. That has been taken up by the Leader of the Lords already. I do not think the ideas in Lord Steel’s Bill are incompatible with the longer-term reforms that we are proposing today.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

How can someone elected for 15 years be democratically accountable if they cannot stand for election again?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, every time that has been looked at on a cross-party basis, the conclusion has been reached that in order to entrench rather than undermine the difference between the other place and this House, it is best to do so by giving any elected Members of a reformed House of Lords a long, non-renewable term so that they are not subject to the normal short-term temptations of party politics, to which some of us might be subject in this place.