Lord Steve Bassam of Brighton

Opposition Chief Whip, House of Lords

Debate on the procedures and practices governing the arrangement of business

Thursday 4th December
My Lords, firstly, can I thank my Noble Friend Lord Foulkes, for tabling this debate. It has shone a rare light
on dark shadows and the hows of government & Opposition negotiations in a national chamber of
Parliament. This has a genuine and important effect on legislation and the way our country is run.

Secondly, my Lords what an unusual pleasure it is to speak to a debate. Chief Whips are usually only seen
or felt, but not heard. The last time a Labour Chief Whip spoke on a non-business item seems to have been
my Noble Friend Lord Grocott way back in 2002. I am not planning to make a habit of this. Though as many
of those present will know, I have a very different and much more numerous flock outside the House to
give me the voice that this role denies me.

The Usual Channels is more of an art than a science with trust an important element of the relationship.
Despite its mysteries to many, I strongly believe that it does work for the benefit of the whole House a
role I certainly take seriously as Opposition Chief Whip.

My Lords, the Usual Channels in this place are a unique institution and are quite unlike the House of
Commons. Government front benchers are always available as they are full-time. But, Opposition front
benchers are not always available. They can have outside commitments they cannot move, or are doing
other legislation. This is why - in general - the Government whips office negotiate days at the Opposition
front benchs convenience. I remember as a whip in Government that an opposition front bencher was not
available as they were away skiing for two weeks. Now my Lords, that is taking the piste!

Proper consensual negotiation is how business management should happen. Sadly, it has not always been
that way in recent years. It is a myth that business is formally agreed by the Opposition Chief Whip, for in
reality the power of resistance is very limited. I do not have the power of a majority. The Government
consults more than actually negotiates, but through discussion, we can usefully find agreement.

Regretfully, there have been occasions on which the Government has tabled business without agreement
like yesterdays autumn statement. By convention, the Opposition decides whether to take repeated
statements, yet yesterday the Government simply told us it was repeating the statement whether we liked

it or not. On some occasions the Government has gone very much beyond what the House believed was
right, for example last sessions supposedly private members bill on the EU Referendum. And earlier this
Parliament the relationship was tested almost to destruction with one particular Bill. This would not have
happened without a political majority to assert over the Opposition.

I will say a little more on the power of a majority. Despite the great hereditary cull of 1999, Labour was a
minority Government at 28 per cent of the House, even though we had a landslide in the Commons.
Defeats were regular one in three of all votes - as all it took was the chief whips of the two opposition
parties to join together to defeat Labour. One of the curious constitutional anomalies of the Coalition
government has put the boot on the other foot. The Government again has a political majority in the Lords,
and the opposition is a minority. This fact makes asserting the opposition rights again the Government
tricky, as we saw with the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill.

What we have seen as the House is further stacked with new coalition peers, is that the Lords ability to tell
the Commons to think again is being steadily eroded. The Governments recent defeats on the Criminal
Justice Bill and I look forward to more next week are the product of hard work and advocacy. But they
have become increasingly rare as Labour peers try to overcome the two government political parties
massive numerical advantage, which now stands at 120. Through the power of argument and building
bridges across the House, we have managed to win votes and gain a substantial number of concessions.

As Chief Whip I have always looked for innovation in what I do and how I can revise the procedures and
practices to make more efficient use of the Houses time. I broadly welcome the bill calendar that is now
published with Forthcoming Business. It gives the House and the Government more certainty and
transparency, but only if it is used sensitively and not to unnecessarily go past the normal sitting times in
contravention of the Companion, and without agreement.

It cannot be right that a House with an average age of 70 - and with the stature of your Noble Lords House is continuing to work well past 10 oclock at night. This simply reduces the quality of scrutiny that too many
Governments bills need too much of.

So, what reforms might this prospective Government Chief Whip look to? The reports of the committees
chaired by my Noble Friends Lord Hunt and Lord Grocott were both helpful in suggesting practical changes
that could be introduced to improve its efficiency. Helpful for both for the Government of the day and for
individual backbencher members, who have much greater rights in this House than in the House of
Commons, thanks in large part to our system of self-regulation.

I support many of the ideas in those reports, including reforms to the way statements are done to give
backbenchers more time, better and extended use of the Moses Room including for bills and statements
thereby allowing more general and topical debates in the chamber but not in the Governments gift;
reforms to discourage repetition; and changes that mean the key decisions are taken when the most
members of the House are around.

My Lords, other ideas worth thinking about are time limits for legislation; public votes on which balloted
debates the House takes; using the Moses Room for Private Members Bills, and last but not least a role for
the Lord Speaker at Question Time.

I now return to my seat with the firm promise not to tweet my ten thousand plus followers, until the Noble
Lady the Leader has finished.

ENDS