Arrangement of Business

Lord Blunkett Excerpts

Friday 27th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

My Lords, we all agree with the Chief Whip, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, that everything in this House should be treated with kindness, courtesy and respect. Will he therefore condemn in no uncertain terms the articles in the last couple of days suggesting that there are seven Peers who are filibustering and that a handful of Peers are putting down hundreds of amendments to sabotage the Bill? If he runs a check today, as I have meticulously have, he will find that in the first six groups, 41 different Peers have tabled amendments—not seven Peers, not a handful of Peers, but 41. They are doing so in order to make this very badly drafted Bill better, and to try and make things safer for all concerned.

[Lord Blunkett (Lab)]

My Lords, I am sure the Chief Whip and my noble and learned friend Lord Falcolner would agree that it is impossible to improve a Bill if you do not get to a point where you can pass it.

[Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)]

My Lords, I want to make the point that the Companion asks us not to read long speeches if people have already made the points in the section that we are discussing. When we were dealing with the Mental Health Act, which I think was equally important, I had written long speeches that I then reduced by saying that I completely agreed with points that had been made by other Peers. I would encourage us to adopt a similar approach in our debate today.