The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)

My Lords, on behalf of the Cross Benches, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, on his appointment as Senior Deputy Speaker, and most importantly, actually, as Chairman of Committees, which is sometimes forgotten. I wish the names were reversed in importance in the way we consider them. The noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, has been in part diplomat, in part referee and in part provider of chocolate biscuits to me over his very successful five years as Senior Deputy Speaker. I am sure he did not expect, in 2021, to leave behind agriculture and fisheries for traffic management and gas lamps on the Parliamentary Estate, but each ball that was bowled at him—the Leader of the House just mentioned some—with every possible spin, by world-class bowlers, he despatched to the boundary and always with good humour. In closing, I note that the noble Lord and I usually arrived for our monthly meetings dressed in Red Squirrel Survival Trust ties—I am wearing mine now. We would have a brief pre-meeting beforehand to discuss our mutual interest in the native broadleaf trees of our nation and red squirrels, which was probably quite puzzling to the officials who were sitting with us, but it set the tone. I was reflecting that, now that he is going to have some time on his hands, the red squirrels of the United Kingdom will be very pleased that a major advocate is back in action and can work on their behalf. I very much value the noble Lord’s friendship. On behalf of these Benches, I thank him most warmly for all his support and service over five years.