---

Equality Bill [Lords]

The last Member who made a speech opposed precisely those intentions. He referred specifically to not wanting to develop a society with those goals, so one must challenge these points. Let me give one reason why I read out part of the Bill earlier. In 1998, as a new and inexperienced MP, I nervously put my name to, and argued for, a number of amendments to the Northern Ireland Bill relating to equality and human rights. We argued that such improvements needed to be made to ensure that we implemented the radical agenda in the Good Friday agreement, and that that agenda got into the Bill. We argued about using impact assessments of the effects of particular policies, to ensure that they did not discriminate. We argued for a statutory duty on public bodies to promote equality.