Extension of Franchise (House of Lords) Bill [HL]

I thank my noble friend for that very helpful intervention.

And referendums.

I have said we can vote in referenda. Indeed, of course, Members of the House of Commons are enti...

Is my noble friend not missing the main argument, that it is easy to distinguish the Scottish Par...

Of course, that would also apply to the Commons but the point is surely this: it is not a matter ...

Surely the point the noble Lord made earlier about this not being the beginning of the slippery s...

I understand what the noble Baroness is saying, but my point is not illogical. People have argued...

Was the noble Lord not aware of this when he accepted his peerage?

Yes, my Lords, I was aware of it, but one has to arrive at a balance. Should have I said, “No, I ...

How solicitous does my noble friend think returning officers and clerks in polling stations are a...

Well, I think that there is something in that, but, in the course of history, Members of this Hou...

The other side of the story is that when I go to vote in local elections that are on the same day...

My Lords, I did not realise that a debate about a simple matter was going to be quite so wide, bu...

My Lords, I support the Bill. I do so with just a degree of reluctance. Reference has been made a...

My Lords, I admire my noble friend Lord Dubs for many reasons, and one of them is his persistence...

My Lords, since universal suffrage was introduced, I thought, pace the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, tha...

My Lords, I support the Bill introduced by my noble friend Lord Dubs. Ever since I became a Membe...

My Lords—

I am sorry. May I just finish this argument? When we are told that we are here in person and ther...

As a Member of the other place for 23 years, I was both here in person and proud to vote for myse...

If we were allowed to stand, we could certainly vote for ourselves too. Logically, the argument t...

My Lords, does the noble Lord not accept that Parliament consists of two Houses: a House of Lords...

The noble Baroness makes a fascinating point but there are two simple answers. She says that we a...

My Lords, I am speaking in the gap, with permission. My noble friend made a significant point: we...

My Lords, has the noble Lord taken on board the very strong argument that has been put before the...

There might be, according to the noble Lord, but I just do not agree with him. I could argue that...

My Lords, I think we owe my noble friend Lord Dubs thanks not just for his Bill but, I have to sa...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, said to me in the corridor the other day, “I hope you won’t ...

The Minister referred to the fact that we are already Members of Parliament. Does he accept that ...

My Lords, I do not accept that we are in any sense a unicameral Parliament. This is one of the mo...

I would be grateful if after the debate on the Second Reading, which I hope will be granted, the ...

I am happy to promise to write to the noble Baroness on that. I think the record is that a full 4...

As far as I recall, this House was never asked to give any opinion on the Bill. It was simply dit...

Having sat through several two-day debates, I think the House has made its opinion relatively cle...

I was actually quoting the Minister’s noble friend from a very recent debate in your Lordships’ H...

Perhaps the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, will come back but, unfortunately, the Government resist this ...

Before the noble Lord sits down, perhaps I may ask him one question. Given what he has said—and I...

My Lords, I cannot give that commitment immediately. We would clearly have to consider that. Priv...

My Lords, it has been an interesting Friday morning. The debate has been good tempered, but has e...

I just point out that if that argument has been used, it was not used by me.

In that case, I misunderstood; I thought that the noble Lord was using the argument himself. Howe...

My Lords, the noble Lord is not responding to my suggestion that if he perhaps linked the introdu...

Give me time. I have got it down here to comment on. If I had put forward a Bill saying the statu...