My Lords, Harold Macmillan, that great Tory Prime Minister, had a quotation on his desk or wall—I forget which—by WS Gilbert:
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
If there were ever a need for this, it is now, on the issue of the Northern Ireland protocol: a treaty negotiated by a British Prime Minister and one of his colleagues, who is present this afternoon; commended to both Houses of Parliament; and given support—with a degree of reluctance, because many of us realised that it was far from perfect.
I understand why my noble friend Lord Howell of Guildford made the brief point he made before he left the Chamber. I believe that we are wasting our time in a prodigal fashion. To quote the noble Lord, Lord Reid of Cardowan, many years ago, the Bill is not fit for purpose. It never will be, however many amendments we pass on the Floor of your Lordships’ House.
We have all agreed that there will be no call for Divisions in Committee. Colleagues on both sides of the Committee know that I would have liked to have a vote to pause proceedings at Second Reading. However, it was conveyed to me that the Labour Opposition were not prepared to support that, and it would not have been right for me to go ahead when I clearly did not have strong support in all parts of the House.
We are now in an Alice in Wonderland situation where a series of amendments—the noble Baroness, Lady Suttie, moved her amendment eloquently and persuasively—are not going to change the fundamental nature of the Bill; they are not going to make it acceptable. So this charade is going to continue through today and two more days, and then the Bill will go to its Report stage. I beg my noble friends on the Front Bench: for goodness’ sake, pause it there at least, so that negotiations can take place without any implicit threats over our European friends and neighbours. I deliberately and repeatedly call for that. Let us have those negotiations, and let us hope that they are entered into in good faith on the both sides.
4.15 pm
The noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, is right that we all accept that alterations should be made, although those who enthusiastically presented this to us as the answer to all our problems at the time did not think
there were any alterations to be made, and frankly did treat the DUP with a cavalier disregard over which it is entitled to feel somewhat aggrieved—but let us calm it, let us pause it, as soon as possible. Let negotiations be conducted in a spirit of reciprocity, and then I do not think there will be any need for any sort of legislation. That would be an ideal situation, and it would echo the fundamental desire of a majority of people in Northern Ireland, the majority of elected representatives in the Northern Ireland Assembly, certainly a majority of those engaged in industry and commerce in Northern Ireland and, if my postbag is anything to go by, a majority of people even with a strong unionist inclination.
I am not going to make repeated speeches on this Bill because there is no point. Let the Government see that there is no point. Let us draw it to a convenient and seemly close as soon as possible, have the negotiations and, if I am entirely wrong, then perhaps there will be a case for coming back. But we are wasting your Lordships’ time. It would be far better to be having on the Floor of the House today consideration of the Bill on free speech which is taking place in the Moses Room, on which I cannot take part because I cannot be in two places at once and in which I would like to be taking part. So let us pause it. It would be in the interests of our country, as well as in the interests of the new Government and, most of all, in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland if we did that.