Lords of the Blog

Highlights of my speech in the Foreign Affairs and Defence debate on 19th November 2009

November 24, 2009 – 1:29 pm

“I urge Her Majesty’s Government and those responsible for European Union policy to approach the Middle East with a proper and necessary sense of humility. We should recognise that our actions – and indeed, our inaction – have led to the wasted yeas of a so-called peace process, with no real peace and at least three brutal and devastating wars, beginning in 2003.

Our new humility should include a sympathetic understanding of both Israel and Palestine. Israelis remember centuries of persecution, largely in European states, culminating in the Nazi attempt at genocide.

On the other side, we have to understand the pent-up anger and frustration of Palestinians over their sufferings. The Naqba, or disaster, uprooted Palestinians, who now number millions of refugees and exiles scattered through the Middle East and beyond.

Both sides long, however, for real peace, bringing with it mutual security, recognition and legitimacy.

The religious leaders in Israel and Palestine have a distinct contribution to make towards real peace.

Unilateral measures, taken by all sides and parties, could also be helpful if they are carefully co-ordinated. I have in mind particularly the release of captives and detainees, and the building of a transport link to connect Gaza and the West Bank.

Our Policy, as I suggested earlier, should be humble but realistic, understanding of basic needs and interests, and patiently working to include all parties in conflict resolution rather than in unsatisfying conflict management. Time, as has been said early today, is not on anyone’s side.

The Minister for Defence, who replied for the Government, was not able to find time to say anything about the Middle East.

By Lord Hylton | Posted in Lord Hylton | Tagged Debates | Comments (1)

A very long debate

November 24, 2009 – 9:43 am

The debate on the “Gracious Address” (never the ‘Queen’s Speech” please note) carries on for 5 days, as Lady D’Souza has already remarked. Yesterday we had the debate on “Home, Legal and Constitutional Affairs”, with 45 speakers, 2 maiden speeches, Lord Bach kicking off for the Home Team and Lord West of Spithead following up as the ‘rear’ admiral. The debate was a kind of potpourri of personal bees in bonnets, predictable and oft repeated points of view and some genuinely thoughtful and constructive commentary on proposed legislation. But I do wonder if these grand ‘debates’, which could not really be called debates at all since one speech does not follow another but give us random topics only loosely connected. I think personally we could ditch these days without too much trouble.

I must welcome Baroness Deech to our bloggers group, and a splendidly challenging first blog.

By baronessmurphy | Posted in Baroness Murphy | Comments (2)

Law in Action

November 23, 2009 – 3:04 pm

In 2007 Parliament passed the Legal Services Act, which might – or might not – revolutionise the way lawyers work, especially barristers. The law allows for, but does not insist on, barristers being able to enter partnership with solicitors, or with each other, instead of carrying on in the time honoured fashion as self employed. I chair the Bar Standards Board which has the discretion to decide about barristers’ working structures, and after two years of deliberation, and listening to passionate pleas from one side and from the other, we decided to permit them to work in these partnerships. The meeting was quite exhilarating; at last the Act is having an effect on that branch of the profession. But we are not going the whole hog, to what is called “Tesco law”: one-stop shops combining barristers with, say, solicitors, surveyors, estate agents, accountants and so on, as we are still concerned about protecting the consumer properly in such a set up. Is this what consumers want and will it make legal advice more affordable?

I have also been lecturing at Gresham College on Lord Lester’s Cohabitation Bill, which ran out of time in the Lords in April. For over 30 years as a law teacher I have been saying that women ought not and do not need to be kept by men, (or vice versa), save that of course children should be maintained (there is a law for that). Floods of appreciative comments have come in, for the first time in my life – I seem to have caught the mood of the times, finally!

The state opening of Parliament is a wonderful occasion and I am a loyal follower of tradition. But do the roads around the Palace of Westminster have to be closed for so many days by so many barriers, irritating pedestrians, motorists and tourists alike? It is after all quite a short ceremony and a day of closure ought to be enough; any more than that is a gift to the republicans . . .

By baronessdeech | Posted in Baroness Deech | Tagged barristers, Cohabitation Bill, law, Palace of Westminster, Queen's Speech | Comments (7)

The range of interests……………

November 22, 2009 – 10:45 pm

As has already been made clear,the Queen’s Speech is followed by five days of pure debate – roughly divided into broad subject areas. Last Thursday there were 34 speeches on the ‘Foreign Affairs ‘day. Of these, 16 mentioned Afghanistan; and of these two represented passionate appeals to rethink strategy and become seriously involved in reconstruction. Others while supportive of the British troop presence in Helmand demanded better operational support.

Europe and our post-Lisbon Treaty role came a close second as did Africa with special emphasis on the Millennium Development Goals – and the lack of progress in achieving them! At least one speech, in which it was exceedingly difficult to catch the drift, ranged from mirrors via Daniel Defoe and the balance of payment deficits to a recommendation that satellite imagery should be used to pick up instances of piracy.

Some speeches (indeed rather a lot) were erudite and heartfelt, some were carefully crafted overviews and some were vehicles for special interests. I value these days of debates, you never fail to learn and as a general, informed critique of government plans they point to the direction in which individuals and parties will go in subsequent legislation and as such should be valuable to the Government.

By baronessdsouza | Posted in Baroness D'Souza | Comments (6)

Televising the House of Commons – and Lords

November 21, 2009 – 11:02 pm

It is twenty years since the television cameras were admitted to the House of Commons. Be ready to take issue with stories reporting that it is twenty years since ‘parliamentary broadcasting’ began. The House of Commons was catching up with the House of Lords, which had admitted the cameras in 1985. Indeed, there was a programme, ‘Their Lordships’ House’, broadcast late at night during this period. I gather it attracted rather good viewing figures for the time of evening it went out. Lord Denham thought this may be because it followed snooker and people forgot to turn off. It also attracted rather positive reviews. The programme disappeared as soon as the cameras started covering the Commons.