"My Lords, there is a danger that public inquiries end up like the royal commissions of old: taking minutes, lasting years and losing public confidence. Is there not now a case for looking at the way that public inquiries are handled and at how one can make sure that at …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, I understand why some of the investigations that the Defending Democracy Taskforce is undertaking have to be kept highly confidential, but if we are going to defend democracy effectively, the public and parliamentarians need to be well informed as to the nature of the threats. I understand that …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, I note the reference that the Minister made to increasing dangers in the seas around the United Kingdom. I also note that the Navy managed to provide a fleet auxiliary vessel as our contribution to the taking of this stateless vessel. We are desperately short of coastal and …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, I simply ask the Minister whether he feels that, under the current circumstances, we should be a little more cautious than usual about following the advice of President Trump on the designation of foreign groups as being either terrorists or in other ways outside the realm of law...." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, we on these Benches welcome the Statement and the achievement. We regret only that the Government are moving so slowly. I note that this means we differ considerably from the Conservative Front Bench, although I was relieved that the noble Earl’s words were a little less hysterical than …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, the Liberal Democrats are strongly in favour of a larger third sector—mutuals, non-profits and charities—rather than outsourcing, for example, special needs or care homes to the private equity sector instead. The Social Impact Investment Advisory Group’s report, which foresaw the setting up of this new office, said priority …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, I declare an interest as someone who lived in the United States for four years and has spent a lot of time since then working on US-UK and transatlantic relations. The Government should not underestimate the seriousness of what is behind this. We have three more years of …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, we on these Benches also recognise the responsibilities we have with troops now helping to train the Ukrainian army and we send our condolences; we know that we are committed to Ukraine. Now that we are waiting for further comments on what is really happening with the Ajax …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"Does the Minister agree that this is a very radical proposal? The SDR envisages the mobilisation of substantial numbers of volunteers at local level, under local leadership, in civilian rescue teams, with reserve firemen, special constables and a new home defence force. It also calls for a national conversation on …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech
"My Lords, I have much sympathy with what the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Bybrook, has said, but I am puzzled, because the Bill is very much in line with the direction in which the last Conservative Government were taking us, and I had thought that she was then a …..." Lord Wallace of Saltaire - View Speech