"My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If I am not mistaken, his wife is American. In the United States, it is a given that citizenship and the right to vote go together. At the very least, we should expect that when we choose to extend the right to vote to …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"I would not want to keep the Opposition spokesman waiting, as he appears to be pregnant with a very important point...." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"Yes, we have reciprocal arrangements, although they are often not entirely symmetrical. For example, I believe that there is a qualifying period of residence for a British citizen in the Republic of Ireland before the reciprocal arrangement comes into effect. As a Brady, I hold no malice whatever towards those …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has made the point brilliantly. The requirement that one should be a member of this country—that we should extend voting rights only to those who are fully part of our country—would surely seem entirely normal and entirely rational in almost any country …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"I hope that the shadow Minister will now endorse the views of his predecessor in the previous Labour Government’s views on this subject...." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"I have always found the hon. Gentleman to be commendably consistent. I hoped that that would be evidenced this evening, should he be called upon to enter the Division Lobby on these matters. My optimism is not bounded even by the shadow Minister’s words of caution, because my hon. Friend …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"As my hon. Friend says, the Minister is a good man. He said as recently as 6 September, in the winding-up speeches on Second Reading:
“It is perfectly normal in most countries that in order for someone to be able to vote for the national Parliament they have to be …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"I think I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I think that for the purposes of this Bill it would be perfectly simple. We are talking about a referendum vote that will take place on a single occasion, so any change we make in the franchise for …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"I hope that the hon. Gentleman will recognise that I tabled amendment 60 in a spirit of compromise with the intention of avoiding re-opening difficult debates that had taken place at the time of the Good Friday agreement. It is of course an inconsistency set against amendment 59, but that …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech
"Absolutely. Like Lord Goldsmith in the document that I have quoted, I think we should move towards a position in which we treat the right to vote in a general election in this country as one of the rights and privileges that go hand in hand with full citizenship. I …..." Lord Brady of Altrincham - View Speech