"I thank the Minister for her reply. This is not a problem of one party, but the fact of the matter is that over the last 15 years, welfare expenditure seems to have run completely out of control. It is now increasing at a rate that, frankly, is not affordable …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast that welfare expenditure will reach £407 billion by 2030–31...." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, has gone somewhere, but I congratulate her on presiding over this report. I would have thought it was almost impossible to get an agreement. From time to time, people ask me what is unique about the House of Lords, and my answer is …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"I thank the Minister for her Answer. The situation that we are in today is not a Labour or a Conservative one; it is one that we have drifted into. Every day, we read in the newspapers about there not being enough money to go round. As a previous Prime …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, I have been a trade union member for just over 67 years. That is longer than my membership of the two political parties put together. For the past 13 years, while I have been in this House, at different times I have been the president of the British …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, I declare an interest: I am a member of this scheme. Let no one say that the British became bad Europeans lately: in 1978, in a last-minute endeavour to put off direct elections, Jim Callaghan persuaded the Council of Ministers that, instead of having a common European pension …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, 50 years ago I was working in the retail sector when the right honourable Baroness Williams, who was a Member of this House some time later, was the Minister for food prices. At the end of her term of office, she admitted that it was a hopeless task …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, I will start with the one uncontroversial thing I am going say, which is to welcome the noble Lord, Lord Barrow. I look forward to his contribution, particularly in view of his past career.
I am speaker number 28. With the exception of my good and noble friend …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech