Lords motion to take note of the report from the Retirement and Participation Committee (HL 32). Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to take note of the report from the Retirement and Participation Committee (HL 32). Agreed to on question.

My Lords, it is probably quite appropriate that we are going to discuss this immediately after we have heard several comments about us being a self-governing House, because it enters into this as well.

I start by thanking those members of the committee who gave up so much time to put...

My Lords, it is probably quite appropriate that we are going to discuss this immediately after we have heard several comments about us being a self-governing House, because it enters into this as well.

I start by thanking those members of the committee who gave up so much time to put...

My Lords, it might be helpful for me to intervene at this point and set out the position of the Official Opposition, although I assure the House that I will listen carefully and weigh every contribution, including those from the many who may disagree with me. First and foremost, I...

My Lords, it might be helpful for me to intervene at this point and set out the position of the Official Opposition, although I assure the House that I will listen carefully and weigh every contribution, including those from the many who may disagree with me. First and foremost, I...

My Lords, I strongly support the report, and I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton, not only on her introduction to it but on her excellent chairing of our Select Committee, which it was a great privilege to sit on. Like her, I thank the committee staff, whose...

My Lords, I strongly support the report, and I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton, not only on her introduction to it but on her excellent chairing of our Select Committee, which it was a great privilege to sit on. Like her, I thank the committee staff, whose...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter. I will not repeat what she said, except to say how well chaired we were as a committee and to give my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton. I thank Judith Brooke and her...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter. I will not repeat what she said, except to say how well chaired we were as a committee and to give my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton. I thank Judith Brooke and her...

My Lords, I am grateful to the committee for its report and for the serious and thoughtful way in which it has approached the difficult question of the future size and composition of this House.

My right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester, the Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, made a...

My Lords, I am grateful to the committee for its report and for the serious and thoughtful way in which it has approached the difficult question of the future size and composition of this House.

My right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester, the Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, made a...

My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend Lady Taylor on her skill, good humour and patience, not least with me, and I thank our fellow committee members. I actually found myself agreeing with the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, who will speak after me today; I was quite astonished on...

My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend Lady Taylor on her skill, good humour and patience, not least with me, and I thank our fellow committee members. I actually found myself agreeing with the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, who will speak after me today; I was quite astonished on...

My Lords, I hugely enjoyed sitting on the committee with the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett. In fact, as he pointed out, many of his views were a revelation to me; they are ones with which I wholeheartedly agree.

I am going to speak up in favour of older Members of this...

My Lords, I hugely enjoyed sitting on the committee with the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett. In fact, as he pointed out, many of his views were a revelation to me; they are ones with which I wholeheartedly agree.

I am going to speak up in favour of older Members of this...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton, for introducing her sensible report that introduces retiral. Speaking personally, I will do what is recommended in the report when my time comes to fulfil the retirement...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton, for introducing her sensible report that introduces retiral. Speaking personally, I will do what is recommended in the report when my time comes to fulfil the retirement...

It is a privilege to have served on the committee that produced the report that we are debating today. I thank my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton for her exemplary introduction and even more for her remarkable skill in drawing out a unanimous conclusion from the committee and the...

It is a privilege to have served on the committee that produced the report that we are debating today. I thank my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton for her exemplary introduction and even more for her remarkable skill in drawing out a unanimous conclusion from the committee and the...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Viscount, and it gives me an opportunity to thank him and the other members of the committee for the work which they put in under the obviously skilful chairmanship—if I can use that word—of the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Viscount, and it gives me an opportunity to thank him and the other members of the committee for the work which they put in under the obviously skilful chairmanship—if I can use that word—of the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of...

My Lords, I strongly welcome the report. I congratulate my noble friend and her colleagues on producing a unanimous,

thoughtful and forward-looking report, which I hope we can, in effect, endorse today and, in due course, adopt its recommendations.

Taking on the implementation of a manifesto commitment ourselves is surely the...

My Lords, I strongly welcome the report. I congratulate my noble friend and her colleagues on producing a unanimous,

thoughtful and forward-looking report, which I hope we can, in effect, endorse today and, in due course, adopt its recommendations.

Taking on the implementation of a manifesto commitment ourselves is surely the...

My Lords, I thank the committee for its work and its report, and I note the limits of its remit. I support the principle of a retirement age. As an unelected House, there is good reason for us to put in place boundaries where the electorate may decide our fate...

My Lords, I thank the committee for its work and its report, and I note the limits of its remit. I support the principle of a retirement age. As an unelected House, there is good reason for us to put in place boundaries where the electorate may decide our fate...

My Lords, I agree that the committee has done a very good job in answering the questions that it was given. The report is thorough and persuasive, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, and her committee for their work. She and I worked together on the Lord Speaker’s...

My Lords, I agree that the committee has done a very good job in answering the questions that it was given. The report is thorough and persuasive, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, and her committee for their work. She and I worked together on the Lord Speaker’s...

My Lords, I have come to listen as much as to contribute. I particularly look forward to the contributions from the next three speakers on my side of the House who, like me, will all be leaving on 8 July 2029, in my case after nine years of service in...

My Lords, I have come to listen as much as to contribute. I particularly look forward to the contributions from the next three speakers on my side of the House who, like me, will all be leaving on 8 July 2029, in my case after nine years of service in...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Davies, if I am still around, I will leave your Lordships’ House in July 2029. I shall do so with regret and equanimity. I assure your Lordships that the few observations that I am about to make do not spring from self-interest.

I pay...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Davies, if I am still around, I will leave your Lordships’ House in July 2029. I shall do so with regret and equanimity. I assure your Lordships that the few observations that I am about to make do not spring from self-interest.

I pay...

Hear, hear!

Hear, hear!

I had the privilege of sitting in Cabinet with James, where he was listened to with the same respect and attention as he was later as a Back-Bench Member of your Lordships’ House. Why should we impair the quality of our proceedings by this act of self-harm?

The committee’s report contains...

I had the privilege of sitting in Cabinet with James, where he was listened to with the same respect and attention as he was later as a Back-Bench Member of your Lordships’ House. Why should we impair the quality of our proceedings by this act of self-harm?

The committee’s report contains...

My Lords, I very much associate myself with those who have congratulated my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton, who has performed the trick of delivering unanimous support from people who did not agree with one another on more than one occasion over the 40-odd years that she and I...

My Lords, I very much associate myself with those who have congratulated my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton, who has performed the trick of delivering unanimous support from people who did not agree with one another on more than one occasion over the 40-odd years that she and I...

My Lords, at first sight, the “Retirement” section of this report has much to commend it. I welcome the fact that the committee

was looking for a solution that would avoid the need for legislation on this issue, very much for the reason that the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, has...

My Lords, at first sight, the “Retirement” section of this report has much to commend it. I welcome the fact that the committee

was looking for a solution that would avoid the need for legislation on this issue, very much for the reason that the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, has...