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House of Lords Bill [HL]

My Lords, I straight away congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Steel, and his colleagues on their initiative in bringing this Bill before your Lordships’ House. I am very much aware of the tremendous amount of work that has been undertaken in so doing. The Bill has certainly set the stage for some very interesting discussions, and I acknowledge both the speed and quality of our debate today. My noble friend Lord Pendry expressed some sympathy for my position—I have certainly found myself a mite short of support—and I am not sure in which league the noble Lord, Lord Howard, would put me to start with. The noble Lord, Lord Steel, made it clear that the Bill should be seen as a tidying-up of the House as it is now. I acknowledge that that is his intention, and I certainly do not criticise him for it. I acknowledge also that the Bill contains a number of important matters. Three of them, the statutory Appointments Commission, disqualification from membership following conviction for an offence, and the granting of permanent leave of absence, were contained in the Government’s 2003 consultative document. As is normal practice, the Government will not oppose the Bill at Second Reading.