The Lord Speaker (Lord Forsyth of Drumlean)

My Lords, I wish to add a few words of my own in tribute to my predecessor, the noble Lord, Lord McFall. I have known him since the 1980s, when the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond divided us: he was the Member for Dumbarton, and I was the Member for Stirling. We sat on opposing Benches in the House of Commons and often disagreed, but in later years we became firm friends. I came to respect him as an honourable, diligent and trustworthy parliamentarian, guided by principle and driven by the common good. That instinct was rooted in his upbringing. He grew up in a tough, close-knit, working-class, Clydeside community where there was real hardship but also a strong sense of belonging and of responsibility for others. His mother ran a small newsagent’s shop serving the whole neighbourhood and it gave him an early feel for people and for what holds a community together. He believed everyone should have a second chance at education, as he did, as the Leader pointed out. He left school at 15 and took a job with the parks department, weeding flower-beds. Years later, he went to night school, where teachers spotted his considerable potential and encouraged him. That opened the way to university, a fulfilling career as a teacher and a deputy head, and a lifelong commitment to learning. His public service showed the same seriousness of purpose, as a Minister in Northern Ireland and as chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, as has already been alluded to. In the aftermath of the Omagh bombing, he helped to keep all communities engaged in the peace process. Following the financial crash of 2008, he held leading figures from the City to account in a series of Select Committee hearings which did much to expose the root cause of the crisis and paved the way for the Future of Banking Commission and the reforms designed to prevent another crisis. In the House of Lords, he served as Senior Deputy Speaker and then as Lord Speaker, improving how the House works—there is more to do—and communicating its value to the country. He helped to steer the House through the Covid period, ensuring that scrutiny and revision continued when normal proceedings were severely disrupted. As Lord Speaker, he was tireless in explaining what this House contributes, encouraging sensible reform, but insisting that critics should first understand the work we do. He strengthened education and outreach, and embraced new ways of communicating, including digital media, to bring the work of members to a wider audience. He was the Members’ champion, accessible to colleagues, attentive to concerns, and determined that the House should serve its members better. He now steps back from the Speakership so he can spend more time caring for his wife, Joan. He returns home, where he can still see from his window that flower-bed he tended as a young teenager. It should remind him, with pride, of how a life of public service began and blossomed to the benefit of Parliament and the people of the United Kingdom. He has won the affection of Members, staff and officials alike, and I know we all join in wishing him well in the future, together with his wife Joan.