"My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, by virtue of His Majesty’s Commission which has been now read, we do, in His Majesty’s name, and in obedience to His Majesty’s Commands, prorogue this Parliament to the 13th day of May, to be then here holden, and this Parliament …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"My Lords, it not being convenient for His Majesty personally to be present here this day, he has been pleased to cause a Commission under the Great Seal to be prepared for proroguing this present Parliament...." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"My Lords, as the House is aware, three sitting hereditary Peers have received life peerages and a further limited number will receive life peerages in a future list. The purpose of the Motion is to allow any existing hereditary Peer who has received or will receive a life peerage to …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"That notwithstanding the practice of the House on introductions, a Peer who has sat in the House as an excepted hereditary peer pursuant to section 2 of the House of Lords Act 1999 may sit by virtue of a life peerage without introduction...." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"I always hate to disappoint my noble friend. There are many strengths to the work that we do in here on scrutiny, but I agree that, as it draws to a close, the current Session of Parliament has presented some challenges and at times has tested our procedures. I am …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"The noble Lord has a good point; I am not sure that there is necessarily a difference. However, how effective we are in managing our time and the issues that we want to raise is a key issue for this House. How we use our time, whether we are making …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"My Lords, I think the whole House would agree that very late nights should be the exception. The noble Lord suggests we talk less—I have to say one of the sadnesses of this role of mine is that I talk less in this House than I did before I did …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"My Lords, it is helpful to review and consider the effectiveness of our procedures. I will continue to advocate for any changes through agreement in the usual channels and through the Procedure and Privileges Committee. I have no plans to set up a modernisation committee at the moment...." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"My Lords, before answering this Question I looked with some care at the recommendations from the Goodlad committee, and a number were not accepted at the time, including that Ministers should be able to answer Questions in either House, that the Lord Privy Seal should have a dedicated Question Time, …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech
"I do not seek to curtail freedoms. I do not know whether there is anything specific the noble Lord has in mind. In a House that is self-regulating, we also seek self-restraint. That self-restraint is something that the whole House wants. The certainty for Members that the House is run …..." Baroness Smith of Basildon - View Speech