"My Lords, first, I apologise to the House for sounding like a broken record, but does my noble friend agree with me that the Benches opposite should have a bit of humility? When they were in government, from 2010 to 2016, they cut the defence budget by 16%, made members …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, the situation we face in Ukraine is nothing new. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, when the party opposite was slashing the defence budget by 16%. Likewise, the problem we have now with our nuclear deterrent is down to the Liberal Democrats, who could not make their mind up …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree with me that, in this debate on the level of defence expenditure, we should look at how we got to where we are today? Between 2010 and 2017, from the Tory-led coalition Government onwards, the then Government cut the defence budget …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, I begin by declaring an interest in that, like the Minister, I own a Jaguar Land Rover car. The Minister said that government procurement should be competitive, but in France or Germany, for example, no government Minister would get in a foreign-made car. What more can the Government …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Lancaster, mentioned the Gurkhas. Our thoughts are with all those who serve in British forces and with their families in Nepal. Could the Minister say what support is being given to the Gurkha Welfare Trust and other organisations that support Gurkha veterans in Nepal?..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"I begin my speech with one thought in my mind: the 97 individuals who lost their lives on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, and their families and friends. It is through the tenacious campaign of those families and friends that we are here today. What occurred on 15 April 1989 …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, I too welcome my noble friend back to her rightful position. She talked about people working hard to save for their pensions. They include pensioners who worked at Nissan in the north-east. Many now find themselves in very dire straits, because for those who accumulated in a pension …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, local shoots are important to many local rural economies. I would be interested to know the view of my noble friend the Minister on the position that National England takes in doing economic impact studies on the effects of its policies on local farming communities...." Lord Beamish - View Speech
"My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that AI is going to be transformational, but the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Houghton, raises a very important point about warfare, where it is going to be transformational and not necessarily for the good. I hear what my noble friend says …..." Lord Beamish - View Speech