King’s Speech

Lord True Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2024 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord True]

That this debate be adjourned till tomorrow.

[Lord True (Con)]

My Lords, what a privilege it is to follow the noble Lord, Lord Reid of Cardowan, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hazarika—two absolutely brilliant children of Coatbridge.

The speech from the noble Lord, Lord Reid, was, as ever, brilliant, humorous and direct. When I was at that Dispatch Box and saw him staring with that disarming smile, I knew I was in for big trouble, but I always knew that no political difference would ever stop a friendly drink afterwards in the Bishops’ Bar. That is the true spirit of our House, and may it always be so. I was shocked to find that the noble Lord is 77 years young, and I would hate to see him go at the end of the Parliament—along with 89 of our other friends on the Benches opposite. Seriously, we can ill afford to lose such voices of experience.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hazarika, has already charmed the House by her intelligence and good humour. As many in the House will know, alongside her brilliant public, political and professional broadcasting careers, she has been a successful stand-up comic, which is one of the hardest things to be. Today she certainly proved why—and how much we look forward to hearing from her in both the serious and the humorous vein, which she combines so well.

My last engagement as Lord Privy Seal was the state banquet for the Emperor of Japan. As I sat there listening to him speaking of his late grandfather, I was reminded of the broadcast that the Emperor Hirohito gave in 1945 after the dropping of the atomic bomb. He declared:

“The war situation has developed not necessarily to the advantage of Japan”.


I think I may say that, since that banquet, the political situation has developed not necessarily to the advantage of the Conservative Party. We now find ourselves with a different view to contemplate—although, when I look at the Cross Benches opposite and recall all those repeated ping-pongs and 409 defeats, I wonder whether some up there now may feel themselves in more congenial company, especially if they will not reach 80 by 2029.

I wholeheartedly congratulate the Labour Party on its victory. I particularly congratulate all those on the Front Bench opposite and those who have supported them, who worked so hard in the long, bleak years in opposition. I remember how that was. I also particularly congratulate our new Leader, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Basildon. It was a huge pleasure to work with her in government. I would usually benefit from her candour but I could always rely on her word, and I pledge to your Lordships that, whenever the noble Baroness puts the interests of the whole House first, I will work with her in the same constructive spirit.

When the noble Baroness replies, I hope that she can say something about the balance of what to me looks a very overweight legislative programme. How long will this Session actually be? I trust that ample time will be given to your Lordships to scrutinise these measures. Can she tell us how many Bills will start in this House and which will be the first we receive?

Noble Lords will note that I cannot go on without a kind word about the Liberal Democrats. I congratulate them, too, on their successes, and declare that they are no longer quite so grossly overrepresented in your Lordships’ House. Perhaps now they can leave some of the strain of making quite so many speeches to their eager new colleagues in the other place.

Of course, I welcome elements of the gracious Speech, not least the clear consistency of purpose where we stand together in support of the people of Ukraine. Like the noble Baroness, I welcome the aim to halve violence against women and girls—but surely our aim must be over time to eliminate this vile behaviour for ever. There are inconsistencies in the Speech, which no doubt will be picked out in the debate ahead—for example, the promise of devolution but the taking of more power for central government to dictate building on the green belt.

This good-humoured day will have brought joy to many on the Benches opposite, but there is a serious matter before your Lordships and, as Leader of the Opposition, I must address it. The gracious Speech alluded to one part of the manifesto package that would radically alter your Lordships’ House. There are four elements: removing immediately all the formerly hereditary Peers; removing by 2029 any Peer now aged 75 or more; mandating a new participation requirement; and finally, and only then, considering how your Lordships’ House might be replaced—from half of us out, I guess, to perhaps all of us out at some time, in some way that the party opposite has not managed to figure out in 25 years.

Many of us know that these proposals cannot have been put together by the noble Baroness the Leader of the House. The manifesto says that “we”—that is, the Executive—

“will introduce a new participation requirement”.

Will the noble Baroness tell us precisely what measure of participation for Peers will be planned? If it is by interruption, the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, is very safe, as he is top of the list—but it will be interesting to know what is actually wanted.

Then we have the proposed changes to the membership of the House. The Labour Party has a political right to remove former hereditary Peers, but it has a constitutional responsibility to say what follows. It did not do that in 1999 and it still has not done so today. No one inherits a seat in our House any more, and no hereditary Peer has the right by birth to sit and vote in this House. Our hereditary colleagues who remain are not the port-swilling backwoodsmen of ancient legend. They are people we know, some of the most active among us and some of the voices we most respect: the noble Lords, Lord Strathclyde and Lord Vaux, my noble friend Lord Howe, the Convenor of the Cross Benches—I could go on. They are dedicated Front-Benchers on both sides, Deputy Speakers and some of our most assiduous Back-Benchers all around the House. Can we afford their loss?

Then there is the element that, although not mentioned in the gracious Speech, I have alluded to: the proposed ousting of those now aged 75 or more, ejecting a great deal of accumulated wisdom that makes this House different from the other place. Again, that proposal cannot have been concocted here. The figures are stark: ejecting hereditary Peers and those now aged over 75 would remove some 390 Members of this House by 2029, including 107 Cross-Benchers—some 60% of their number would be out. That, in my submission, would be regrettable.

This is a House of consensus, compromise and convention, and I think we can do better. What guarantees that a Government’s programme passes is not numbers; it is convention. I thought it quite wrong that this House defeated the last Government on record numbers of occasions and with record rounds of ping-pong. I never hid that. I thought it wrong under a Conservative Government and I think it would be wrong under a Labour Government. This House has every right—and, indeed, a duty—to engage with Ministers and to ask the other place to think again, but an unelected House must never be a House of opposition. The days of wilful defeats of an elected Government should stop, and while I am Leader of the Opposition I will seek to lead in that responsible tone.

When I was your Leader, I reached across the Chamber, as did the Convenor of the Cross Benches, to offer discussions to strengthen the conventions that guide this House in ways that would both preserve your Lordships’ freedoms and give security to all Governments. That offer remains open. I believe it to be the best course, but convention will be tested, perhaps to destruction, if we plunge down the road to partisan purges and pointless conflicts.

I offer that advice in a spirit of good will and amity, and with no rancour, on a day when I salute the success of the Labour Party and the pleasure that friends opposite, if I may call them that today, take in that victory. But as we go forward, there should be consideration for all the Members of this House and consultation on all Labour’s proposals for this House. There should be a search for consensus and a reinforcement of convention. I ask our Leader, whom we all so respect, to impress on her colleagues who are perhaps less understanding of this course the greater wisdom and the surer efficacy of that way.

Having been serious for a moment, let me say: peace and good will to all. It is an honour and a privilege to have served on that side, to serve on this side and to know you all as fellow workers. I wish godspeed to all in this new Parliament ahead. I beg to move that this debate be adjourned until tomorrow.