"My Lords, the virtue of the Bill is the flexibility that it gives the Secretary of State, allowing him or her—depending who is there—to take action swiftly on the basis of security advice. I agree entirely with the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, and my noble friend Lord Cryer that it …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, after a week of fixation on personalities and personal ambitions, we can now return—I almost said “to sanity”—to the process of policies and the political direction of the Government. I am sure that they will want to make sure that their policies do not hinder but promote growth, …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank the Minister. She has pointed out some signal failures in this case; they are now pretty widely known. What puzzles people, including those who are very sympathetic to the Government, is why, when there is such a failure of one particular company—of course, it is not …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, I declare an interest in the area of cyber security. First, we should congratulate the Government, despite the seriousness of this, on their swift response. Admittedly, it was after the event, but the Government acted on this occasion swiftly and effectively. Secondly, although this was not a cyber …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, I first welcome this Statement. It is not only important but long overdue in the face of the facts the Minister gave, including the fact she confirmed that take-up of apprenticeships has fallen by 40% over the last decade. If we are going to address that issue, I …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, in the context of media reports over the weekend, can the Minister tell us the most recent assessment that has been made of the adequacy of the UK’s current gas storage capacity to meet demand in the event of a prolonged supply disruption and the absence of an …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, for precisely the reasons outlined by the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, I have great suspicions about this amendment. It underestimates the operational difficulties of what is proposed, not least because the catchment age of this Chamber does not really allow us fully to experience or understand them. Therefore, …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, the conflict in Yemen has now been going on for, I think, more than 12 years, with tragic consequences. Those of us who have observed this over the past decade or so have always regarded it as both a tragedy and a very complicated issue, all the more …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"Of course we have to give scrutiny to any international agreement, but I am sure that, throughout this House, there is wide agreement that this is good news for the young people of this country—there is no question about that. In that context, will my noble friend the Minister reconfirm, …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech
"My Lords, I have a considerable sympathy for the Minister. I am certain that under previous Secretaries of State for Justice and Home Secretaries, including me, there have been frequent inadvertent releases of prisoners. My noble friend is right that the past 14 years and the cuts of thousands of …..." Lord Reid of Cardowan - View Speech