Legal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, the noble Viscount has already deployed his immense gifts for oratory to very considerable effect. He has helped to sharpen and define exactly what the issue is between us and the Government. In my opening remarks, I drew your Lordships’ attention to some observations made by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, at Second Reading, when she pointed out that almost inevitably, where you have eight objectives, there will be some conflict between them: some will pull in one direction, some will pull in another. At the end of the day, a balanced view has to be taken about whether the importance of one regulatory objective outweighs the other. That is essentially the point the noble Viscount, Lord Bledisloe, has made and is exactly the intention behind the amendment. We have had a number of exchanges with the Government about these issues; the time has come to test the opinion of the House. On Question, Whether the said amendment(No. 119) shall be agreed to? Their Lordships divided: Contents, 184; Not-Contents, 132.