"My Lords, I rather suspect that the noble Lord, Lord Bichard, and I are fishing in a similar pool here. My Amendment 196B is all about local accounting officers and is designed to help to improve the level of scrutiny and accountability for each mayoral strategic authority.
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the 2025 Budget on grassroots music venues...." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lord, that is a very welcome response from the Minister, but I wonder what assessment His Majesty’s Government have made of forecasts that increased business rate valuations could result in a closure of between 80 to 120 grass-roots music venues and place a further 120-plus at risk. How do …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"Does the Minister agree that there seems to be some form of collective amnesia on the Benches opposite? I well recall, as an employee of the Greater London Council, that the 1985 local elections in Greater London, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, the West Midlands, et cetera were all cancelled …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, I want to speak to the amendment from the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty. I became leader of Brighton council in 1987. One of the first things that we did was triple our spending on the Brighton Festival. At the time it seemed like a fairly minor thing, but …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, I support these amendments. I am absolutely fascinated by this debate. For most of my life I have lived in a city, and most of my friends think I am a city slicker. The truth is, however, that I was brought up in a rural community in a …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech