Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I trust that your Lordships will forgive me for wandering slightly off piste in the context of this debate, because I wish to speak about the problem of marriages under sharia law in this country and, in particular, the fate of Muslim women seeking a religious divorce or being subject to a divorce by their husbands. At the outset, I pay tribute to the work of the noble Baroness,...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I add my congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Stevens. His matchless experience of healthcare has been communicated to us with a pleasantly light touch. I rise to speak to the proposed new subsection (2A) outlined in Clause 4(2) of the Bill, to which my noble friend Lord Bethell referred. This was one of three amendments made to the Bill in another place which were accepted by...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I was called away and only heard the impressive speech by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, and four others, so I crave your indulgence if I cover points already made. I want to speak briefly on two overseas jurisdictions about which much has been said in the current debate—Canada and Oregon. A Bill was introduced in Canada in 2016 to legalise assisted dying. Like similar...
Viscount Bridgeman: Does my noble friend not agree that the Prime Minister has at his hand two possible levers: one is the requirement of the Taliban for diplomatic recognition and the other their requirement for international aid? Can we have her assurance that the Prime Minister, within the international community, will make as much use of these two levers as he can?
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, a Channel 4 survey found that six in 10 Muslim women, who had had traditional Islamic weddings in Britain, are not legally married—a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Cox. Of these, over a quarter— 28%—are not aware that they do not have the same rights they would with a legally recognised marriage. Does the Minister not agree that this is an issue of equal rights for...
Viscount Bridgeman: I am most grateful for the opportunity to come in after the Minister. I wish to support the noble Lords, Lord Bradshaw and Lord Cameron of Dillington, in their Amendment 58. The noble Lord, Lord Cameron, has given us an explanation of the omissions from the NERC Act 2006 for part of the green lanes provision. Both noble Lords referred to the abuse that that has involved. The advantage of this...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I will try to get this issue dealt with.
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, thank you very much. I am most grateful and I apologise for the problems. The advantage of this amendment is that it is easy for the general public to appreciate: quite simply, it requires the Secretary of State to institute a public consultation affecting unsealed tracks. “Unsealed” is an unqualified word, and it means all—I repeat, all—unsealed tracks. Here, I take issue...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am very pleased that this admirable Bill has at last found its way to your Lordships’ House, having been several times a victim of the parliamentary timetable in the past few years. I must thank my noble friend Lord Randall for piloting it through your Lordships’ House. My noble friend Lord Trenchard has reminded us that England currently holds the wooden spoon as practically...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, this debate has been a reminder, if ever one were needed, of the vast amount of work still to be done between the UK and the EU. It is essential that those further talks and negotiations start off on the right foot, and that, from the outset, both parties aim for the establishment of a genuine partnership between two sovereign bodies so that, for example, on the international stage...
Viscount Bridgeman: The Government previously assured the House that there is no need for a change in the law because all citizens can access their rights according to law. Yet the chasm between the de jure situation and the de facto reality is an abyss into which countless women are falling and suffering as a result. Is the Minister able to assure the House that repeated commitments to “continue the...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I want to make one particular observation on the present turn of events. What motivates the willingness that many Hong Kong citizens have shown to expose themselves to extraordinary personal danger in recent demonstrations? Prior to 1997, light-touch Administrations gave successive generations of Hong Kong citizens a sense of freedom under the law. The last of these was under the...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, surely one of the few good outcomes of this dreadful virus is the emergence of unprecedented co-operation among health authorities worldwide in fighting it, of which the highest profile is of course the work towards the development of a vaccine. I am grateful to the Minister for telling us the contribution of the United Kingdom. Sadly, all this is of course without the proper...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I join other noble Lords in congratulating the right reverend Prelate on this timely debate, which has been particularly enhanced by her speech; she has very considerable and distinguished experience in this matter. Early intervention is not short of attention, and the excellent briefing from the Library highlights no fewer than 10 different sources and authorities on this vital...
Viscount Bridgeman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to strengthen vocational education and training in secondary schools.
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I thank noble Lords who have put their names down at short notice for this debate. I was fortunate to be number one in the ballot for the QSDs following the Queen’s Speech, so the opportunity has come rather earlier than I anticipated. Your Lordships will be aware that on 6 September 2018, there was an excellent debate initiated by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare. I am very pleased...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, on her magnificent overview of the background to the Bill and on her patience in waiting for an opportunity for it to be read. For some years I was the chairman of an independent hospital which, unusually, contains a hospice within its property and is part of the same charity. I had conversations with the current director of the...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, in congratulating my noble friend Lord Reay on his maiden speech, I have to add my apologies for attempting to leave the Chamber as he rose to his feet to deliver a most impressive maiden speech. Several references have been made in this debate to the meticulous planning by the joint British, Canadian and American teams in the two years or so before D-day. There is one aspect of...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am privileged to follow my noble friend Lord O’Shaughnessy, and I am sure that Peers from all sides of the House will have been impressed by the thoughtful letter which the Minister has sent to us all. In it, there are a number of concessions, which will be subject to later amendments in this debate. The insertion of a sunset clause is a valuable safeguard, as are the...
