Lord Stephen: My Lords, it is impossible to do justice to such an amazing and astonishing person and such an amazing and astonishing life. I am also conscious of the hour, so I will keep my reflections light but give some memories from Scotland, Royal Deeside and Balmoral. I was once the Member of Parliament for Balmoral, but my reflections go much further back and my memories start much earlier. I used to...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, to participate in this debate is a great privilege. However, I will concentrate my remarks on an issue much too ignored in the gracious Speech: the constitution of the United Kingdom and, mostly but not exclusively, the situation in Scotland. There are other major constitutional issues of great importance: the much-neglected and much-needed reform of this House; the need for...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, democracy did not start and finish on 23 June 2016. For those who say we must at all costs respect the result of the referendum, does that mean that whatever the deal, whatever Prime Minister Theresa May or some other Prime Minister might come up with, we have to go through with it, however unpopular that agreement is to both the remainers and those who support Brexit—and,...
Lord Stephen: I will draw my remarks to a close. I do not believe that a new referendum, whatever the question, would support a hard Brexit—so the result would either be the Prime Minister’s deal, or remain, which the Prime Minister campaigned for. Would that be such a terrible result for her and for this country? Should we not build consensus in this country for a way forward that unites, not...
Lord Stephen: My Lords—
Lord Stephen: My Lords, I first declare my interest in renewable energy, as declared in the register of interests. Can I return to the issue of gas storage and storage in general? Given in particular the current international uncertainties and the severe—some would say critical—shortages of gas that have occurred over recent years, should the Government not be doing more to review the situation in...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, while I strongly support all that has been said about the continuation of the EHIC scheme, I want to speak to Amendment 353 in my name and thank my noble friend Lady Jolly and the noble Lord, Lord Warner, for adding their names to it. The amendment would require the UK Government to make arrangements for an independent evaluation of the impact of the European Union withdrawal...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, as a former Transport Minister in Scotland who worked closely with the Labour Party to ensure that there was greater devolution of transport powers, particularly with regard to the railways in Scotland, of course I strongly support the principles of devolution that the Smith commission supported and which this Parliament legislated on. I also fully understand the position as...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, does the Minister agree that there is no justification for a second independence referendum and that the best way for that to be made clear is for the UK Government to make a simple, clear statement to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people on that issue? It is not what people in Scotland want, not now nor after Brexit. The SNP should stand by the Edinburgh agreement and...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, it seems that the Government had an important decision to make on this issue. Did they want the Sewel convention, or the legislative consent convention as it has now become known, at least in the Scottish Parliament, to continue as a convention or did they want to convert it into statute? In truth, the answer is that they are making a mess of that decision. In a sense they are...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, this is all complex, although perhaps not as overwhelmingly complex as the fiscal framework itself. However, I am very pleased that the Government have brought forward amendments to respond to the views of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. At this late hour, I do not intend going into all the detail, but it is interesting to note that, instead of—as the noble...
Lord Stephen: I very much welcome the information that the Minister has had consultation with the Scottish Government on these issues but I wonder what consultation and discussion have taken place with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on all these matters.
Lord Stephen: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his response and the Labour Party for supporting these amendments. I welcome the support of the noble Lord, Lord McFall, alongside his colleagues, the noble Lord, Lord McAvoy, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Davidson. The important point here is that these are good, detailed and well-argued amendments that were submitted with the advice and support of...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, I spoke to Clause 35 in Committee. Protection from discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity are fundamental markers of any fair and decent society. As Clause 35 sets out how these issues will be dealt with in the context of the Scotland Bill, it is essential that the meaning of the clause is clear. Despite the Minister’s assurances in Committee, the Equality and...
Lord Stephen: Does the Minister accept that since 1999 the practice has been that if there is a proposal to alter the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, the convention is that a Motion should go before the Scottish Parliament in relation to that matter? In other words, the convention on these separate issues has been that there would be...
Lord Stephen: The noble and learned Lord has made many points but I think he would accept that there is very wide cross-party support for the amendments being submitted today on this matter. After the 18 minutes for which he has been on his feet, I think none of us is any the wiser as to what the political imperative to which he refers is.
Lord Stephen: My Lords, I make it clear at the outset that we support the wording provided in his amendment by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope. Indeed, we agree very much with the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, that the word “normally” seems at best unhelpful in legislation. Our first two amendments, Amendments 9 and 10, provide for the consent of the Scottish Parliament to be required when UK...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Statement. It is certainly very good news that an agreement has been reached between the UK Government and Scottish Government on the fiscal framework. This agreement should allow the Scotland Bill to reach the statute book ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections and will introduce a very powerful range of new policy-making and tax powers to Scotland,...
Lord Stephen: My Lords, all of this emphasises the need for more open government. We have very limited information on the fiscal framework negotiations and neither Government have won plaudits for transparency and openness. From the UK Government there has been little more than, “We met. Good progress was made,” and possibly, occasionally, an overview of the agenda. I quote from the meeting held as...
Lord Stephen: If that is the case, we must flush the SNP out on this, and we must be transparent and open about the progress that has been made and what is being offered by the UK Government in terms of the fiscal framework. The UK Government must be prepared to defend their position as fair and reasonable. Whatever the result today, I believe that the arguments for greater openness and transparency on the...
