Results 1-20 of 2,643 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Lord Soley

Crime: Domestic Violence — Question (11 Nov 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the example of the charity Standing Together Against Domestic Violence? Part of its aim is to help organisations in this area to integrate and co-ordinate their work, and it has been a model for other parts of the country. Could we do more to advertise what it does to other local authorities, courts and police services? It is a very good model to follow.

Abu Dhabi — Question (10 Nov 2009)

Lord Soley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with the Government of Abu Dhabi about their commitment to the rule of law.

Abu Dhabi — Question (10 Nov 2009)

Lord Soley: I am encouraged by that reply. Does my noble friend share my view that no state can succeed in the modern world without the rule of law? She will be aware of the dreadful case of Sheikh Issa and the torture of one of his employees, and she will be aware of a number of businesspeople whose assets have been seized. I am most familiar with the al-Ghussein case. Is it possible for us to assist...

Armed Forces: Future Defence Policy — Motion to Take Note (6 Nov 2009)

Lord Soley: In view of the recent losses of life in Afghanistan, it is probably inevitable that we spend a lot of time on Afghanistan, although the debate is wider than that. I want to make two comments about that at this stage, because there is a case for a more in-depth debate about Pakistan. First, I think that people ought to revisit the comments made by the Minister about the nature and complexity...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Report (4th Day) (29 Oct 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I understand fully where the Government are coming from on this, and I am sympathetic to anything that tries to stop the distress caused by some of these publications to victims of crime and their close friends and families. As the Minister has already discovered, the problem is in the detail of how to do it without slipping into undesirable censorship. I make the point in passing...

Iraq — Question (22 Oct 2009)

Lord Soley: Following events the other year when the Iranians took our navy personnel hostage, can the Minister reassure us that we have given them adequate training in case they should be taken hostage again? It is a very important area.

Airports: Heathrow — Question (19 Oct 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I am the campaign director of Future Heathrow. Does the Minister agree that it would be the height of economic and environmental madness to build a major new airport in the Thames estuary, or anywhere else in the south-east, and keep Heathrow open? You either close Heathrow or you do not build a new airport. It makes so much logical sense to have just one hub airport, not two. It is...

Afghanistan and Pakistan — Statement (14 Oct 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I have a question about public support for this conflict, but I would like to put it in a context that relates to the intervention of the noble Lord, Lord King. If we go down the road of having a party political divide on this—he did ask us to compare the current a situation to his record as Secretary of State for Defence—we will end up in a party slanging match, and...

Afghanistan — Question (12 Oct 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords—

Iraq — Debate (18 Jun 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, the last time I spoke on this issue was in another debate on a Motion commendably tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Fowler. I spelt out then my views on what I saw as the failure of the Iraq occupation after the conflict. My noble friend Lady Ramsay has also drawn attention to the important post-conflict failure and to the profoundly important failure to build consensus, particularly...

Iraq — Debate (18 Jun 2009)

Lord Soley: I shall, my Lords, but I have only one minute left.

Iraq — Debate (18 Jun 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I think that I just answered that. As I said, it became a matter of law partly for that reason. But it is not the real issue; that was not the judgment that was made. I come back for my final moments, and I will still finish on time. The balance of power in the world is changing. The United States is in relative decline. That does not mean that it is going down—it is in...

Parliament and the Public — Question for Short Debate (16 Jun 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, one of the strengths of the British political system and its protection of freedom has been its ability to adapt over the centuries. In a three-minute speech I am not going to persuade everyone of the necessary adaptations, but I commend some of the comments of the noble Baroness, Lady Shephard, and the noble Lord, Lord Renton, as well as his work and his appearance on YouTube. When...

Constitutional Renewal — Statement (10 Jun 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I reiterate my long-standing support for the implication in the Statement that we will at last have a way of setting the expenses, allowances and, in the case of the House of Commons, salaries independently of the two Houses. With the best will in the world, the House of Commons—I do not think that it has happened here so much—has often tried to amend recommendations on...

Climate Change — Debate (21 May 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I join others in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, on initiating this debate. Like him, I draw attention to the expanding population of the planet and, indeed, of this country. We should remind ourselves that nature has a rather brutal way of dealing with any species that either outstrips its own resources or so pollutes them as to make their appropriation difficult...

Armed Forces — Question (5 May 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, is my noble friend aware that people feel very positive when they see the Prime Minister talking to troops in Afghanistan? We should recognise that engaging in talks with the troops at all levels is profoundly important for morale in the current situation. We should not forget that.

Swine Flu — Statement (27 Apr 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, the Minister may recall a debate in this House on 24 February of the ad hoc Committee on Intergovernmental Organisations, which dealt with the issue of the spread of pandemic diseases. It confirmed one of the things he has said: that this country is highly regarded around the world for its work within governmental and international organisations. The committee was concerned about...

Civil Liberties: Electronic Surveillance — Debate (23 Apr 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, I do not think that I will be the last person to thank the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, not only for bringing forward this debate but for the way in which he has done it, which was constructive and thoughtful. I have chosen to intervene because I have had a long interest in this matter. One of the things that I wish to spell out is that the nature of the debate is changing in...

Unemployment — Question (22 Apr 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that at a time of increasing and perhaps inevitably rising unemployment the key is to ensure that the right training schemes are available, particularly for the emerging new economy, and that the statements made today and at other times are very important in that respect? Perhaps we should also remind ourselves that one of the successes which is not...

Counterterrorism — Statement (24 Mar 2009)

Lord Soley: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that it is important to reach out to the often young and vulnerable members of our society who fall for the argument that, just because bad things happen in a democracy, democracies are somehow no better than the often closed and authoritarian societies that they seek to criticise? Surely the real issue is not defining extremism, useful though that may be,...