Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 13 Sep 2016 Finance Bill
"My Lords, I thoroughly agree with the extremely sensible advice which my noble friend has just given to the Government and his very perceptive view of the state of the City’s status and reputation—sadly, because it is after all our leading industry in this country—among the public at large.
"My Lords, is it not the case that devaluation is the enemy of productivity because, for a time at least, it keeps in being inefficient firms whose factors of production would be better deployed elsewhere? Is it not also the case that one of the great drivers of productivity is …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"May I correct the noble Lord? Brexit was not an external shock. It was an internal shock. It was a policy shock. Does the noble Lord think it is serious that we have lost our AAA credit rating? What is his estimate of the increase in borrowing costs we will …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"My Lords, is it not the case that the Treasury document referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, makes it absolutely clear that the growth in our income as a result of our remaining part of the EU will be much greater than would occur if we left the …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"My Lords, like so many other people on both sides of the House today, I have been thinking intermittently throughout this debate of Maurice Peston. Maurice was not only a most original mind but a lovely human being, who was always warm, generous and kind to people in his personal …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"My Lords, I do not think I can readily recall another instance in history in which a Government have succeeded in such a short time in running their economy into the ground, going in six months from an economy which was expanding again and with falling unemployment, to the brink …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"Before the noble Baroness sits down, the word “responsible” has played a key part in the debates on the Bill, and she has used that term herself about a dozen times this morning. Do the Government consider that Clause 1(3) adequately defines that word; or, otherwise, that the word “responsible” …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. How long does he think that the whole of this process would take? What is the minimum amount of time that realistically would be involved if an independent report were required in writing? Does he not recognise that we are …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"My Lords, I will make three points, which are important at this stage of the debate.
First, I very much deprecate the frivolity with which the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, answered my question about the time involved in producing an independent expert’s report. It is quite wrong to be frivolous …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech
"I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving way, but I must intervene on him. I said nothing designed to impugn the good faith and sincerity of anyone in this House, let alone people who have gone to the trouble of producing these amendments. What I said was that, …..." Lord Davies of Stamford - View Speech