Member

Your Lordships’ House, incidentally, is the worst place in which I have ever worked—not because of the personalities. Indeed, I have a fantastic communication which is easy as pie with the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for example, and, although I disagree with him profoundly, with one of the other noble and learned Lords. It would be easy as pie to lip-read were this Chamber and our committee rooms better than they are today. This is not necessarily a feature of Parliaments. I have had the good fortune to work in perfect surroundings in the European Parliament in Brussels, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the NATO parliamentary setting, which is also in Brussels, and in other Parliaments. It is this Parliament and particularly this upper House that is deficient. We managed to get much better hearing and sight facilities, for example, in the other place many years ago. It is this House that is deficient. I raise that with particular fierceness because I believe it influences the point I am making. Otherwise, I would not bother to raise it.