Lord Newby (LD)

My Lords, as a relatively new Member of your Lordships’ House, I was the Liberal Democrat Bill Whip on the House of Lords Bill in 1999. I therefore had my apprenticeship in how legislation goes through under the tutelage of the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer. I am, therefore—along with the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, I think—one of only two people who have sat through not only all the debates on that Bill but every debate on this second Bill dealing with the hereditary Peers. My principal emotion this evening, therefore, is one of relief. I believe this Bill is long overdue; it is not, of course, the wholesale reform which members of my party and I wish to see, but is, in our view, a welcome and necessary change. I am also pleased that the proceedings are to end with a whimper rather than a bang. When we voted on whether all hereditaries should be given a life peerage, the majority was 37. The number of Conservative hereditaries who voted was 41. They made the difference. It was, to put it mildly and diplomatically, not a good look. I am relieved that there is no possibility of the same thing happening again this evening. I am pleased that some hard-working Conservative and Cross-Bench hereditary Peers are to get life peerages. Noble Lords will have seen that, as far as these Benches are concerned, we decided to use some of our regular intake of new Peers to give life peerages to my noble friends Lord Addington and Lord Russell, who have made such valuable contributions to our work over some time. That is out of a mere six new Lib Dem Peers since the election. The Conservatives have had 24 and some of those places could have been for hereditary Peers; only the noble Lord, Lord True, and his leader in another place know why this course was not followed. It seems to me that that was an opportunity missed. I greatly welcome the Government’s decision to ensure that all Ministers in your Lordships’ House are salaried. I associate this change particularly with my late colleague Baroness Randerson. When she was Wales Minister and Northern Ireland spokesman in the coalition Government, not only did she not receive a salary, but on days on which she visited Wales or Northern Ireland, she did not receive an attendance allowance either. This was scandalous, and I am pleased that this injustice will not be visited on any future Lords Ministers. Finally, I wish to thank outgoing hereditary Peers for their contributions to the work of your Lordships’ House. They have been valued Members and, in some cases, have worked tirelessly on behalf of the House for many years. It is, however, now time for a change. As I said at the start, I am relieved that, with today’s debate, we are able to bring this particular chapter in our parliamentary history to an end. We now look forward to the results of the committee looking at retirement age and participation. That is the next stage in making our House a better functioning and more credible institution, which I am sure everybody wants to see.