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Clerk of the Parliaments

My Lords, I am pleased on behalf of the Cross-Benchers to join with those who have paid these well deserved tributes to Sir Paul on his retirement as Clerk of the Parliaments after 43 years here—I think I was a bit older than four at the time when he started—and for his four years, since 2003, as Clerk of the Parliaments. For me and my Cross-Bench colleagues, Paul has been the fixed star when around us an enormous number of things have been changing: the departure of hereditary Peers, the arrival of the Lord Speaker on the Woolsack in place of the Lord Chancellor, the continuous discussion of potential changes that is always in the air. Paul has created an element of stability that we all welcome. Most importantly for the Cross-Benchers, he has given us confidence that the interests of the House that he serves are defended and promoted, and that confidence has never been misplaced. I, like others, am sure that the House of Lords is stronger and more widely appreciated by the public now than when he first came into it and when he took over as Clerk of the Parliaments. That is a tribute that he deserves and which, when he has some time of his own to reflect on it, I think he will be pleased about. Cross-Benchers, being bereft of Whips, hymn sheets, pagers and other political guidance, have to rely rather heavily on the services of Paul and his staff, and our satisfaction with all those services, including those that he has brought in himself such as the Table Office, reflects on his mastery and indicates how we are pleased by the way the services have developed. Since I have had the pleasure—or misfortune—to serve as Convenor on a large number of administrative and practical committees of the House, I have also appreciated the large administrative charge that falls on the Clerk of the Parliaments as Accounting Officer, responsible for a substantial and diverse administration. The complexities increase, of course, as the building gets older, we buy Nos. 1 and 2 Millbank and our investment in security against terrorism becomes even more important and depressingly necessary. We thank Paul for all the work he has done on that. All those tasks have been achieved with notable good humour and a manifest neutrality towards political and other differences. Indeed, I would say that, if he were not the Clerk of the Parliaments, he would be an ideal Cross-Bencher—and there is no better tribute than that which we can pay to Paul on his retirement from his high office.