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Company Law Reform Bill [Lords]

I am not talking about consultations on a manifesto, and I do not want to get involved in that argument. I am talking about the role of this House as a legislature, as a body that conceives, drafts and eventually promulgates laws, subject to Her Majesty’s consent. We have received her consent—or that of her predecessors—pretty consistently for the past 300 years. We have an important job that must be taken seriously. It would be crazy to carry on a situation that we have had far too often in the recent past, in which Bills have been introduced that have not been properly thought through. We have then had much too little time to consider them, precisely because of the Government’s disgraceful habit of imposing automatic timetable motions. Whole rafts of legislation therefore go through without due consideration, and that is a disgrace to any Parliament. It is certainly a disgrace in this country, which is often said to have the mother of Parliaments. On this occasion, however, I must give the Government their due for the fact that there has been proper consultation, and it has resulted in a sensible Bill. On the whole, it is also well drafted. That point has already been made today, but it bears repeating. On the whole, the Bill is written in sensible, lucid English. There are one or two exceptions, and if I am lucky enough to be appointed to the Committee, I might raise them there. Generally, however, the Bill sets good standards of drafting.