Results 1-20 of 3,568 for speaker:Mr David Steel

Prorogation: Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech (21 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: On behalf of the minority parties, Madam Speaker, may I thank you both for your kindness and for your protection of the minority parties in the House. We are very grateful.

Prayers: Middle East Security (19 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: Is that an offer?

Prayers: Middle East Security (19 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: I warmly congratulate the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Banks) and thank him for his initiative in raising the debate before we close this Parliament. I came into the House exactly 32 years ago this week as the baby of the House, and I am now ready to depart. My maiden speech was all about the problems of the Scottish Borders, which had been the subject of my by-election campaign, but as...

Business of the House (17 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: Will the Leader of the House confirm that his announcement has two effects: first, that some 28 Bills will have to be either passed through the House in the next few days or dropped altogether, which hardly seems to be the best way of concluding legislation; and, secondly, that, coupled with the press statement from No. 10 Downing street, he has announced the longest election campaign in this...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Royal Family (Overseas Visits Costs) (12 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: Has the Secretary of State reflected, in answer to the would-be mayor of Greater London, that he must have seen with his own eyes that, when our royal family travel abroad, their travel arrangements and entourages are conspicuously more modest than those of presidents or vice-presidents of republics throughout the world?

Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland: Council Tax (5 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the expected levels of council tax for 1997–98. [17315]

Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland: Council Tax (5 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: I thank the Minister for that blinding flash of insight into the financial affairs of Scotland. I seriously thank him and the Secretary of State for Scotland for the courteous hearing that they gave to me and to my hon. Friend the Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) in Selkirk, and for rearranging the capping limit for the Scottish Borders council. However, will the Minister...

Petitions: Scottish Borders Council (Financial Settlement) (4 March 1997)

Mr David Steel: On behalf of my constituents, I wish to present a petition, which has attracted more than 7,500 signatures of people in the Scottish Borders region. Never in my three decades in the House have I known such genuine anxiety about the quality of public services in our region, and that is reflected in the response to this petition. The second part of the petition, which pleads for the capping...

The Constitution (20 February 1997)

Mr David Steel: I recognise that the Prime Minister believes strongly and genuinely that creating any devolved Parliament could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom. I hope that he would respect the reverse view, which is that, without devolution, we risk the break-up of the United Kingdom. No anomaly that he has so far mentioned is as great as the present one, where 580 non-Scottish Members of...

Points of Order (19 February 1997)

Mr David Steel: On a wholly different point of order, Madam Speaker. You have always deprecated the release of information outside the House that ought properly to be given to hon. Members in the House. I want to draw your attention to my complaint about the proceedings of the Scottish Grand Committee, which met in Montrose on Monday. I tabled Question 2, which was about the local government funding formula...

Orders of the Day — Firearms (Amendment) Bill (Allocation of Time): Supplemental (18 February 1997)

Mr David Steel: In support of the plea that the hon. Gentleman is making, can I point out that the guillotine motion allows us exactly 45 minutes to discuss the whole question of compensation? The Minister of State has just circulated a 14-page document on compensation, which I have just received. Are we seriously expected to deal with a complicated issue affecting so many people in 45 minutes flat?

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Nigeria (12 February 1997)

Mr David Steel: Is the Minister making particular representations to the Nigerian authorities about the continued detention of General Obasanjo? Does he recognise that the general was the only president of Nigeria—the only military ruler, that is—who handed over to a democracy, and that since then he has played a distinguished part in providing democracy throughout the continent of Africa? His...

Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland: Borders Health Board (5 February 1997)

Mr David Steel: Will the Minister take note of the fact that, when my hon. Friend the Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) visited the Borders general hospital during the Christmas recess, he found that acute beds were being blocked by elderly people who should be cared for in the community or in nursing homes? That problem is caused by the lack of financial resources both to the health board...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Indonesia (15 January 1997)

Mr David Steel: The Minister has just told us that the Government support the street demonstrations in Serbia. Is he aware that the street demonstrations in Indonesia have been suppressed by water cannon, as shown in photographs that I am sending him today? Will he study those photographs and change his mind about the further export of water cannon?

European Council (Dublin) (16 December 1996)

Mr David Steel: Does the Prime Minister accept that many of the problems that we face in the European Union today—notably with the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy—were caused by our opting out of the original negotiations that framed the rules? If so, does he accept that the British national interest is again being damaged, because he is seen by other European...

Armoured Vehicles (Indonesia) (10 December 1996)

Mr David Steel: I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely, the written answers from the President of the Board of Trade yesterday, revealing that he was issuing licences for the sale of armoured vehicles to the Government of Indonesia. This is a serious and...

New clause 4: Payments in Respect of Firearms Rendered Unlawful (4 December 1996)

Mr David Steel: I wish to give broad support to the new clause moved by the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Sir J. Wiggin), and I should like to underline a couple of his points. It is true that there are differing views in all parties in the House on the merits of the ban itself. Speaking for my party, I can say that there is no difference of view on the essential point that the hon. Gentleman...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Iraq (27 November 1996)

Mr David Steel: While the Minister is waiting to find out who his American counterpart will be, is it the intention to revive the plans for humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq, especially the children, that were interrupted by the renewed confrontation with Saddam Hussein?

Zaire (20 November 1996)

Mr David Steel: May I, on behalf of my colleagues, give a wholehearted welcome to the Minister's statement? I remind him that two years ago I visited British troops who were in Kigali as part of the UN force, and General Dalliaire, who was in charge of the UN operation—indeed everybody—said that if only the international community had been able to send troops three months earlier, we might have...

Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland: Industry (Taxation) (20 November 1996)

Mr David Steel: Is the Secretary of State aware that, following the death of the General Franco, there was, in 1977, an exactly similar debate in Spain? Many Spanish businesses doubted the wisdom of setting up the Catalan Parliament, and the "poncho peseta" phrase stood in for the "tartan tax". Is he aware that, if he were now to go to Barcelona, he would not find anyone against the Catalan Parliament,...