Social Media: Use of X by Government Departments
Debate between Lord Hannan of Kingsclere and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a really interesting point. She is right that misinformation, disinformation, propaganda and counterpropaganda are not new. Last week, my husband wrote an article for his local paper in which he reminded everybody that there is one day of the year when we look at media with a level of cynicism: 1 April. We need to be doing that every single day of the year. The noble Baroness makes an important point, which I will look at. A DCMS consultation is currently out; I will ensure that her point is fed in.
Lord Hannan of Kingsclere (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I was a little alarmed by the Minister’s response to the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire. He does not like some things that are being said on X. He was not talking about incitement, harassment or the promotion of illegal activities. He specifically cited campaigning for a candidate whom he did not like—something that is legal but which he did not like. The Minister said, I think, that this might be a proper case for Ofsted toughening its regulatory powers. Would she like to clarify that, because I think we can all agree that we do not want to criminalise different political points of view?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I am sorry if I gave that impression. That is absolutely not what I meant; I meant that, in terms of its responsibilities, X has to follow the law. With regard to anyone standing for election, all of us who have done so know that there are ways and means for us to beat our opponents, and that is at the ballot box. We will continue to do so. Personally, I enjoyed campaigning against the candidate who was referenced; it is an incredibly important part of all this.
Last week, I had the final Question just before the football. I have the same Question today. I do not want to tempt fate, but come on, England!
Arm’s-length Bodies
Debate between Lord Hannan of Kingsclere and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness raises an interesting point. It is not something that has been brought to my attention before, and I will speak to officials and come back to her. As far as I am aware, this Government want to make sure we have the right people in the right places to deliver what we need. If there has been a slight pause because of the change of Government, that may be one thing, but there is no official policy that I am aware of.
Lord Hannan of Kingsclere (Con)
My Lords, my noble friend asked which arm’s-length bodies might be abolished. I am not sure I have heard the Minister answer. Maybe I could suggest one or two off the top of my head. What about Natural England? What about the Arts Council? What about the independent football regulator before it beds down and starts doing damage to our great export trade? How about the big one, the Climate Change Committee?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Lord will not be surprised that I may have anticipated that that question might come from him. Given that he has given me the opportunity to raise the football regulator, I just want to put on record my congratulations to Port Vale on their promotion at the weekend. Many of us support clubs that are not in the Premier League, and there is huge support for the football regulator from grass-roots organisations.
With regard to which arm’s-length bodies will come next, we are asking every government department to review. Given that the Prime Minister made his speech announcing this policy only on 13 March this year, I am delighted that we have already announced the end of NHS England and, this week, the Valuation Office Agency. We are moving faster than the previous Government did and will continue to make sure that we have best value for money.
European Union: Court of Justice
Debate between Lord Hannan of Kingsclere and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent(1 year, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My Lords, the negotiated deal in the Windsor Framework and the update, Safeguarding the Union, had a very clear role. We are doing everything we can to deliver on Safeguarding the Union; as colleagues will know, I work regularly with noble Lords from Northern Ireland to do that, as do the rest of my colleagues on the Front Bench.
With regard to the role of the ECJ and associated courts, those are not specifically relevant to this, but I will update the House if I am wrong.
Lord Hannan of Kingsclere (Con)
My Lords, I wonder why any third country would sign a trade agreement with us as long as we have passed part of our regulation to the control of a body that is beyond us and may in the future make all manner of decisions that are not foreseeable today.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his question and obviously appreciate his expertise in this area. Let me be clear that we have left the European Union. We continue to engage with the European Union as our largest trade partner—it represents £823 billion-worth of trade across the piece—and we will continue to work in the best interests of our nation.