"My Lords, as a young person, I was so susceptible to subversive influences such as BBC television news, Radio 4’s “World at One”, which I listened to every day, and the Guardian, which I bought daily, that by the time I was 14 I was treasurer of my branch …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"My Lords, I support the principle behind Amendment 32 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, just as I previously supported the principle when the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, introduced a Private Member’s Bill in 2020 and when the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, introduced an amendment to what …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"My Lords, Amendment 125 in my name and that of my noble friend Lady Thornhill would insert a new clause to confer on the Secretary of State statutory powers to establish pilot schemes for flexible voting options. We worry that low turnout in general elections, which was less than 60% …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"The noble Lord’s proposal is actually what I proposed in previous Parliaments, and his Government resisted tooth and nail any suggestion about registering people at the point that they got their national insurance numbers. My understanding of the noble Lord’s Amendment 8 is that, rather than beginning the registering process …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"My Lords, in looking at this group of amendments, we all have a duty to try to discern which of them might be considered to be motivated by partisan considerations. My view is that Amendment 8 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, is simply about reducing the …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"I was absolutely crystal-clear that I meant all those people legally entitled to vote; “legally entitled” is very important and a part of the principle of everything I have argued for...." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"I am trying to get in my mind why it is that the things around automatic voter registration that the Minister and his colleagues supported in opposition are now considered not to be so practical. I note his point that the DWP data is not sufficient to include somebody on …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"My Lords, it is more than 50 years since we legislated to extend the franchise to allow 18 year-olds to vote in general elections. A great deal has changed in society since 1970 when those 18 year-olds cast their first votes, and it is right that we look again properly …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank the Minister for her sympathy on these issues, and I thank all the people in her department, who I know are sincerely committed to trying to help people with diabetes, to help prevent its occurrence and to provide the best possible care and treatment. But at …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech
"My Lords, my father might be considered to have been lucky in that, despite losing a leg in the First World War and developing diabetes in the 1920s, that was the decade in which insulin was developed, and it saved his life. His treatment with insulin was so successful that …..." Lord Rennard - View Speech