Parliament: Elected House of Lords

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Monday 16th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Tyler]

My Lords—

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords—

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

Cross-Bench!

Osama bin Laden

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, I have not read this report, but I am sure that my colleagues in the Foreign Office have. I agree with the noble Lord that there is an opportunity facing the region to use this point in time to do things differently. It is particularly an opportunity for the Taliban to cast itself away from the programme of violence of al-Qaeda and to involve itself in a political process.

The report that the noble Lord mentioned strikes me as having a very sensible objective. I shall make sure that the Foreign Office examines it.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, reverting to the very reasonable point made by the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, does my noble friend not agree that Osama bin Laden in prison could have been an even greater danger than Osama bin Laden in hiding? Is it not entirely right, and a great relief, that he has been killed, and that he was buried in such a seemly manner so that his body cannot be the centre of a shrine?

[Lord Strathclyde]

Given that there was not much time to plan these events, I entirely agree with what my noble friend says about the burial of bin Laden’s body. It was done, I understand, fully in accordance with the teachings of Islam, and it was done quickly and effectively. As my noble friend pointed out, there is the added advantage that there is no shrine to visit for those who regard bin Laden as a leader.

House of Lords: Life Peerages

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, I thought I had been entirely straight with the noble Lord. A peerage is for life. That honour should remain, but it should not necessarily guarantee a seat in the House of Lords. The noble Lord knows that well because he knows that the Government are committed to House of Lords reform, as all major parties agree that reform is needed and this coalition Government provide the opportunity to determine final proposals that can be put to Parliament after there has been a Joint Committee of both Houses.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, my Letters Patent give me the right to sit here for life. I assume my noble friend’s Letters Patent do the same. Are we to attach more importance to the Letters Patent from the Queen or to the views of the temporary Deputy Prime Minister?

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, in the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999 we went through this quite a lot. In the end, the view was that statute law could vary the terms of the Writ of Summons. Therefore, if it was the will of Parliament that life Peers should not be guaranteed a place in the House of Lords, I do not think there would be any problem.

House of Lords: Membership

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howarth of Newport]

My Lords—

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

Grocott!