Ffos-y-Fran Opencast Coal Mine

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 5th June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, the UK Government have responded to this report. The Question relates to one part of the report relating to the Ffos-y-Fran opencast coal mine. As I have made clear, that is a devolved matter and a matter for the Welsh Government, and the Welsh Government have responded to the UN rapporteur’s report.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, is my noble friend not absolutely and completely right on this issue? If matters are devolved, they are devolved, otherwise there is no point in having devolution at all, is there?

[Lord Henley]

My noble friend is absolutely correct.

Brexit: Fashion Industry

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Henley]

Yes, my Lords, we will take the point about lawyers into account, and I will make sure that the noble Baroness’s concerns are brought to the attention of my honourable and right honourable colleagues. As regards others such as models moving abroad, I think that there will probably be no problem whatever, because there will be a particular attraction to making sure that English models and all others involved in the fashion industry are able to work in Europe and sell their wares.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, I wonder whether my noble friend can tell me whether we have any problem with the Americans, for example, behaving in a dastardly, unfair way, as Lib Dem Peers fear our European friends would behave if we were not in the EU.

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, I think I had better confine myself purely to questions about fashion rather than other areas, but on that particular subject I can agree with my noble friend.

Brexit: Aerospace and Automotive Industries

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I think it is clear, as the Prime Minister has said—and the Government subscribe to the views of the Prime Minister—that we would like to negotiate a free trade agreement with the European Union with as few non-tariff barriers as possible. If we are not able to negotiate such an agreement, we will fall back on the WTO rules.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend not think it is very nice to hear spokesmen for the Labour Party saying day after day how important it is that government should do what business wants? Oh, if only that had been the case in past Labour Governments —and I hope it will be if we ever get one again.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, in both the aerospace and automotive industries, for a number of years we have had an extremely close partnership between industry and government, to the benefit of both parties.

Employment: Remuneration

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

We are looking at the precise wording of the consultation document, but the idea is to explore the various ideas that the Prime Minister set out so eloquently in this area. That would include binding votes, employee representation, which I am aware of because I used to sit on a German board—it has pluses and minuses—and, of course, full disclosure of bonus arrangements.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that it might help to bring a different dimension to these discussions if, occasionally, we referred not to the “shareholders” but to the “owners” of businesses and not to the “executives” but to the “hirelings” who operate on behalf of the owners?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

I thank my noble friend for his interesting and provocative remark.