"My Lords, I would like to offer a dissenting opinion, but some noble Lords will be used to that. I strongly support industrial policy, but the coupling of defence and industrial strategy needs some thought. It suggests that industrial policy is driven by military needs, whereas in fact the case …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply, but may I press him more fully to explain what contribution he thinks our country can and should make to the peace process? The Government have insisted on the need for British and European forces to be stationed in Ukraine to …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current state of negotiations for ending the war in Ukraine...." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"My Lords, I have a long-standing respect for the noble Lord, Lord Robertson. In the early 2000s, we were both engaged in trying to build better relations with Putin’s Russia—he as chair of the NATO-Russia Council and myself as founder of the UK-Russia round table, whose efforts were then openly …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"My Lords, do the Government believe that we have a shortage or a surplus of labour? The question arises because the OBR has calculated an output gap of 0.5%, closing by 2027, which suggests that we actually have full employment, yet that flies in the face of common sense. We …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"My Lords, last Thursday, the noble Lord, Lord Howell, asked the House to take note of the UK’s international position. My purpose today is narrower but more urgent; to ask the Government what their Ukraine policy now is. It is urgent because the Trump Administration have torn up the familiar …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what is their policy with regard to the Ukraine war following the new policy of the government of the United States of America...." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"My Lords, I will not speak directly to the proposals of the report to improve our military capabilities but will consider the framework in which they are set.
The report’s underlying assumption is that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made Europe a much more dangerous place, against which we have …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech
"My Lords, like other noble Lords, I commend the efforts of the noble Baroness and her committee to shorten and simplify the code and guide. That they have not altogether freed themselves from the bureaucracy involved in all this is more a sign of the times than of any lack …..." Lord Skidelsky - View Speech