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OpenHouse of Lords (Cessation of Membership) Bill [HL]

3rd reading in the Lords

24 Jul 20124 speechesView in Hansard ↗
  • Quote
    My Lords, as is usual in these matters, I shall now read the following. I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the House of Lords (Cessation of Membership) 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.
    Time
    15:28
  • Speaker
    Lord Steel of AikwoodLord Steel of AikwoodNon-affiliated
    Quote
    My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill be now read a third—and, I dearly hope, final—time.
    Time
    15:29
  • Quote
    My Lords, very briefly, on behalf of the whole House, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Steel, for his perseverance in taking this Bill through. We shall have to see what happens in the other place. Does the noble Lord think that his Bill just might be part of the answer to the Government’s problem on Lords reform?
    Time
    15:29
  • Speaker
    Lord Steel of AikwoodLord Steel of AikwoodNon-affiliated
    Quote
    It is above my pay grade to answer that. I hope that it might be but we shall wait and see. In the mean time, like the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, on the previous occasion when we debated this, I quote Aristotle: “Politics is the art of the possible”. This item is possible. Let us get on with it and pass it to the House of Commons.
    Time
    15:29