Mr Tony Benn: I ask the indulgence of the House. This may be my last speech, so if I am out of order, Mr. Speaker, I hope that you will allow me to range widely. I support the report of the Procedure Committee and the motion proposed by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House. The report is scholarly and historical; it considers all the arguments. My only difference with it is over the question of a...
Iain Gray: I am less interested in how many people have fallen foul of the current law than in the potential for others to fall foul of it in the future. It is difficult to make an estimate. As Mr Ingram said, there are four counties in Scotland where that type of property tenancy is quite common, so there is the potential for more people to suffer in the future. The key issue is the oppressive nature...
Lord Carter: My Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to acquaint the House that they, having been informed of the purport of the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill, have consented to place their prerogatives and interests, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.
Rhona Brankin: The business before us is to debate the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill, but before I outline the main provisions in the bill, I would like to deal with a procedural matter in relation to Crown consent. For the purposes of rule 9.11 of the standing orders, I wish to advise the Parliament that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill, has...
Sarah Boyack: Thank you Presiding Officer. It is with a real sense of pride that I rise today to propose that the Parliament pass this bill, which is a landmark bill. Several times in recent years, people have observed that it is deeply ironic that Scotland should be one of the few countries in the world that does not have national parks. As Robin Harper mentioned, Scotland is the birthplace of John Muir,...
Lord Irvine of Lairg: My Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to notify the House that, having been informed of the purport of the Trustee Bill, have consented to place their prerogative and interests so far as they are affected by the Bill at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My Lords, this order is made under paragraph 1 (1) of the schedule to the Northern Ireland Act 2000. The key provisions of the draft order are essentially the following: to provide the Secretary of State with regulation-making powers to regulate the flying of flags on government buildings in Northern Ireland; to ensure that the regulations would be referred in draft to the Northern Ireland...
Lord Crickhowell: My Lords, I am one of those who believes that the noble Lord, Lord Rees-Mogg, has rendered a considerable service by raising this issue and by the important speech he made tonight. The noble Lord made clear that there are two issues, which should be kept separate. The first concerns the kind of regime we should have to control our conduct; the second is the constitutional issue which he...
Jim Wallace: It is a genuine privilege to speak to the motion to approve the general principles of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill. This is a truly historic piece of legislation that will bring to an end 800 years of feudalism in Scotland. It will benefit the vast majority of people who think of themselves as owner-occupiers in Scotland but whose homes are in reality held subject to...
Mr Tony Benn: The Adjournment debate tonight is about the role of the House of Commons. If it is any relief to the Minister who is to reply, I am not really expecting any sort of response. If he listens, I shall be very content because what I want to talk about deals with the House itself. My qualifications for opening this debate are that I was elected 49 years ago this month and have fought 17, and won...
Mr Robert Maclennan: I apologise to the right hon. Member for Chesterfield. I still think of him as he was when he played a part that I did not have the honour to witness, but of which I have read, in the reform of the House of Lords. It is that part for which he may well turn out to be remembered by posterity. What I am trying to pray in aid is the possibility that the upper House could valuably complement the...
Paul Murphy: At the beginning of this debate, my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay) raised the issue of by-elections and substitutes. Although I shall return to that issue in Committee, I can tell him now that the House and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agreed that substitutes rather than by-elections represented the proper way of dealing with vacancies, as that system will...
Mr. David Ilinchliffe: I am most grateful for this opportunity to raise the circumstances of my constituent, Mr. Wayne Hood, who was convicted on 14 November 1996 of the attempted murder of his former foster parent, Terence Jarvis, and sentenced to four years' imprisonment. Jarvis was himself sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on the following day, after being convicted of the indecent...
Graham Allen: This week we have been celebrating the victory 50 years ago of democracy over fascism. Sadly, however, there has been little contemplation in the Chamber, no debate on the fundamentals of democracy, the clash of philosophies or even a step back to take stock and discuss the future of our political system. In a different context, the director general of the BBC recently called on the media to...
Tony Blair: The new clause deals with the new criminal injuries compensation scheme. Nothing so completely exposes the hollowness of the Government's claims on law and order than scrapping the existing system of compensation for criminal injuries. We have one of the finest systems in the world for the individual compensation of victims. It is a model that other countries have agreed to and followed....
Mr Tony Benn: The speech that we have just heard from the right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) must have been made many hundreds of times over many hundreds of years, for example, against the admission of Catholics into Parliament, against the admission of Jews into Parliament —[Interruption.] Of course it has. The right hon. Gentleman failed to recognise that conscience is not the...
Mr Tony Benn: Tomorrow night 1 shall vote against the Bill. I cannot vote for the Opposition amendment which, if it makes any sense to me, argues that we should go further towards European union and the central bank. This is not a debate between those who are anti-Europe and those who are pro-Europe. I very much resent the terms "Euro-sceptic" and "Euro-enthusiast", which were invented by the media and by...
Mr John MacGregor: I have it in Command from the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Bill, has consented to place her prerogative and interest, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill. I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The House will have observed that the names of all the...
Bill Cash: There is nothing alarming about the scenarios, but it is important that we know what we are doing and that we inform the public properly about what is going on. After all, the issue of consent depends upon proper information. I have already explained why I voted for the Single European Act. At the time, I tabled an amendment to the effect that nothing in the Act should go against the...
Mr Tony Benn: I welcome the debate and the initiative to hold it. We do not often discuss the constitution. Last year, we had a little celebration about the events of 1688, which some said were the basis for our liberties, although some of us take the contrary view about that. "The Rights of Man" by Tom Paine is still banned in the Maze prison. He was one of the greatest democrats in our history and he is...