Results 1-20 of 1,149 for speaker:Lord McNally

Queen's Speech — Debate (1st Day) (18 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, before I go into the meat of my speech, I should comment on what I thought was a rather muted cheer from the government Benches when the noble Baroness, Lady Symons, paid tribute to the Chief Whip.

Queen's Speech — Debate (1st Day) (18 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: Listen, my Lords. I have a definition of being a Chief Whip: "Being chief whip is a case of endeavouring to give information early and being very pleasant to people". That is the opinion of my noble friend Lord Shutt. It certainly fits, especially with an enforcer like Josie. My first and most pleasant duty is to add my congratulations to the proposer and seconder of the humble Address. The...

Rail Services: First Capital Connect — Statement (12 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, I declare an interest in that just after 7 am this morning I was on St Albans station waiting to catch a train into London, as I do regularly, with several hundred other commuters who have either found those trains cancelled or found themselves packed like cattle into such trains as did arrive. I experienced the same earlier in the week trying to catch a train home. I remind the...

House Committee: Parliamentary Passes — Motion to Agree (10 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, I speak as a member of the House Committee, partly because the Chairman of Committees often complains that, when he has a tough job to do, he is left to swing on his own. From what he has said and the mood of the House, there is a desire for the House Committee to look at this again, but we cannot do so on our own. I hope that, if the report is referred back to the House Committee,...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Third Reading (5 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, I think the Front Benches have brought this on themselves because we have been trying to get this business through. I sat through long meetings when the noble Lord, Lord Williams of Elvel, was pushing this idea through the Procedure Committee. I warned then that if we allowed rules and regulations to interfere with genuine discussion, we would find ourselves in more trouble and...

Armed Forces: Political Activity — Question (3 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: Does the Minister not have some sympathy for General Dannatt? When he was appointed, he specifically said that he was taking up this appointment because of the lack of expertise on the Tory Front Bench in this matter.

European Council — Statement (2 Nov 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, first, I join both the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in expressing our condolences for the family and friends of Staff Sergeant Schmid. On the matter raised on Afghanistan, I follow the questions put by the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, because it must be made clear to President Karzai that he is very much on probation if we are to sustain the commitment in...

House of Lords: Code of Conduct — Announcement (29 Oct 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, from these Benches I thank the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Eames, and his group, and particularly my colleague and noble friend Lady Hamwee for serving on a group that has done such great service to the House. I also associate myself with the tribute to Lord Kingsland; it was indeed one of his last great services to this House. We need to study the report carefully, as the...

House of Lords: Lord Speaker — Question (28 Oct 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, we strongly support the thrust of the request of the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours. In the review, would the Lord President—I am sorry, she is now the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster—look at the demarcation line between the role of the Lord Speaker as Speaker of this House and the Lord Chancellor? It seems to some of us that the Lord Chancellor gets into his...

Parliament: Reporting of Proceedings — Question (15 Oct 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, is it not ironic that tomorrow we celebrate the opening of the Supreme Court, which underlines the separation of powers? Is it not time to remind the judiciary that the separation of powers is a two-way street and that judges should not be lured into imposing injunctions that impinge on parliamentary privilege? The letter sent by Carter-Ruck to Mr Speaker is far from penitent. Would...

Afghanistan and Pakistan — Statement (14 Oct 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, we always start these Statements with a good deal of cross-party support, but the very detail of the numerous questions asked by the noble Lord, Lord Howell, shows that, although there is cross-party support with regard to a safer Afghanistan and a stronger Pakistan—we certainly share the tributes which the noble Lord, Lord Howell, paid to the dead and the wounded—it is...

G8 — Statement (13 Jul 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, until the last few moments when we had the party-political broadcast, I was thinking, "What a measured statement from the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde". I have been involved in these gatherings since the 1970s, so I have never been overenthusiastic that any one of them would be the decisive major breakthrough. On the other hand, I have not been as cynical as many about them. I think...

Death of a Member: Lord Kingsland — Tributes (13 Jul 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, I know that our conventions mean that many people who want to pay tribute to Lord Kingsland today will be prevented from so doing. Occasionally, when one gets that phone call that one of our colleagues has died, the feeling is one of sadness, but it has usually been about a life well lived and long-lived. I do not think that I have felt a feeling such as that which I felt this...

Building Britain's Future — Statement (29 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, it is a pleasure to see the noble Lord, Lord Barnett, in his place because I know that on an occasion such as this he is ready to ask a helpful question of the Government. I have no intention of being rude to the noble Baroness, Lady Royall. Up to almost 30 seconds ago the author of the Statement was listening carefully. Today's Financial Times, which is authoritative because it has...

Building Britain's Future — Statement (29 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: You want to look at his antecedents, my Lords. They are very interesting and noble Lords will understand where he gets all his good ideas from. However, the price tag comes into the question. As my honourable friend Vince Cable pointed out the other day, we are dealing with a Government with rising debts and falling revenues, yet here they are today signing blank cheques and spending money...

Building Britain's Future — Statement (29 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: The noble Lord, Lord Hoyle, makes a great horse laugh, my Lords. It is very sad that, in their dying months, a Labour Government suddenly commit themselves to something they should have done 12 years ago when they were not being outmanoeuvred by Lord Cranborne and Lord Weatherill. The truth is—and I say this with some sadness—that the Prime Minister is now the Archie Rice of...

National Security Strategy — Statement (25 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, my locus in this is that, when I was in the position of my noble friend Lady Miller, I worked on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Communications Bill and the RIPA legislation. I listened to the Minister and heard his passion for co-ordination. Perhaps I may ask him to think again and not just to give an off-the-cuff reaction to the idea put forward by the Constitution Committee...

European Council — Statement (23 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, for the first or five minutes of the response of the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, I was thinking, "My goodness, Tom is becoming a real statesman", and then in the last two minutes he slipped into some old bad habits. If one is talking about honour, I say that it is dishonourable to fight a European election campaign with the body language and every statement putting forward an...

Parliament Act 1911 — Question (22 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to celebrate the centenary of the Parliament Act completing its passage in the House of Lords on 10 August 1911.

Parliament Act 1911 — Question (22 Jun 2009)

Lord McNally: My Lords, may I first take this opportunity to congratulate the noble Baroness on her appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster? The noble Baroness, Lady Farrington, will already have told her that it is the highest office that any reasonable politician can hope for. Did she notice yesterday the Pauline conversion announced in the Observer of Mr Jack Straw to a wholly elected Senate...