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Coalition Government

Why do you laugh? It is absolutely true. I submit that their tactic has brought this House into disrepute, and I hope it will fail. The situation is not helped by the belligerent attitude of some Conservative and some Liberal Democrat Peers. We were shown today by the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, whom I normally hold in high repute, how intolerant he could be. I do not think that he has served the House well. The Opposition in this House have a very clear duty and I hope that they will not be deflected from it. Their duty is to scrutinise carefully all legislative proposals. No such proposals have ever been incapable of improvement, and that requires constructive dialogue. It takes two to do it but there are too many in this coalition Government who seek to prevent any constructive dialogue taking place. I had some experience as a Minister and a European Commissioner, but never did I consider that it was my job to ride roughshod over my opposite number or over those who disliked the Commission. Indeed, I sought, not always successfully, to co-operate with them and to improve the consensus, an ambition which we often shared. That is no longer so. Ill-tempered lectures from the Deputy Prime Minister serve no useful purpose; indeed, he should be trying to bring people together rather than dividing them. That is what he should have attempted to do instead of sowing dissension. The same is true of tuition fees, of the so-called reform of the National Health Service and of the Bills that affect the stability of this House. There are other examples, but as far as concerns those three things, we should be especially careful. My noble friend Lady Symons cited in her remarkable speech several examples that should be followed. This Conservative-led coalition closes its ears because it chooses to do so. It prefers to throw ideas into the air and hope that they will survive. There is no attempt, even when major constitutional proposals are broached, to reach any agreement with the opposition Front Bench. Of course there is time to change course, and to advance a reasonable exchange of ideas rather than continuing on the disastrous course of imposing Bills that reflect only one point of view, especially when there has been no pre-legislative scrutiny. We should remember that millions of our people, young and old alike, will be affected. My noble friend Lord Howarth of Newport referred to the plight of young people. An increasing number of them will not put up with what they are subjected to at present. They must be heard. I fear that their anger will spill over, leading to further protests and agitation, and threatening the security, stability and cohesion of our nation. Of course change has to take place—it is not too late—but this approach demands an exchange of views and a willingness to hear as well as to speak.