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Postal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I was not going to speak on the amendment, but I was intrigued when I read—I was going to say the "order of service", but I am in the wrong place—the rules of debate on Report. I am not sure that the admonitions were aimed at the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, or indeed at me. However, as another principle of what we should do on Report—that we should not repeat Second Reading speeches—has been broken by the noble Lords, Lord Clarke and Lord Hunt, it behoves me to set out the Liberal Democrat position on the Bill. It is very clear: we agree with the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, that the amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Clarke of Hampstead should not be supported. We agree that the Government should not make the concessions that he is asking for. However, as the Minister is aware, there are two critical issues on which we require movement if we are to support the Bill, both of which will come up in later amendments that we have tabled. Depending on the Government’s response, we will decide, here and in another place, whether to support the Bill. Our position is that we support the principle of what the noble Lord, Lord Clarke of Hampstead, calls part-privatisation; but we will not support the Bill unless the two critical amendments that we seek are adopted.