"My Lords, I got the message from the Minister that she is not able to tell us what is going to be on the Government’s list on priorities, so can I just make a suggestion? All I am asking is that she will at least say she will go away …..." Lord Harper - View Speech
"Before the Minister moves on, perhaps I may raise one point and then the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, will respond at the end. I follow the Minister’s argument about whether the strategy is the right place. The only thing I would be concerned about is whether achieving things in the …..." Lord Harper - View Speech
"My Lords, I want to touch on four parts of this group. First, Amendment 90, which I strongly support, was ably moved by my noble friend Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay. The constituency I represented in the House of Commons for many years, and in which I still live, has …..." Lord Harper - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak briefly to this group. First, I echo what my noble friend Lord Moylan said about the courtesy of the Minister. I thank him for the two letters I received this week. One, which I think was also sent to my noble friends Lord Moylan and …..." Lord Harper - View Speech
"Before the Minister moves on, I will add to my noble friend’s point—and this is also aimed at the Whip. The danger for the Minister is that if we debate the amendments on the long-term rail strategy, as we will today, and then we study the document published today and …..." Lord Harper - View Speech
"From the little frisson I have created here, I hope I have not damaged the noble Lord’s reputation among his Labour colleagues by agreeing with him. I do not wish to do that. Noble Lords should wait for my remarks and see how in line they are.
"My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the short but well judged speech of the noble Lord, Lord Liddle. I think he will discover it is not enormously dissimilar to one or two of the things that I am going to say...." Lord Harper - View Speech
"My Lords, I wish to speak to several amendments in this group. They cover the role of the ORR. As my noble friend Lord Grayling has just said, it is arguably a bit weird continuing to have a regulator when you are bringing track and train together in GBR. He …..." Lord Harper - View Speech
"My Lords, I apologise to my noble friend on the Front Bench, and to the House, for jumping the gun in my attempt to ask a question. I listened carefully to what the Minister said. I think he accepted that the industry is under a great deal of pressure, because …..." Lord Harper - View Speech