Queen’s Speech — House of Lords, 2017-06-21
Topic: Other
Michael Bruce Forsyth (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, may I begin by thanking the Leader of the House and the Chief Whip for inviting me to move this Motion for the Humble Address? It is a singular and unexpected honour, and I confess that I feel like I did the other day when a very attractive young lady offered me her seat on the Tube. However, I imagine that my noble friend Lady Bertin—who will second the Motion—and I are part of the campaign by the Chief Whip to woo the youth vote after the result of the general election My first task is to express our thanks to Her Majesty the Queen for honouring our House with her presence to deliver the gracious Speech from the Throne. The whole House will also want to send our best wishes to His Royal Highness Prince Philip, who, sadly, was unable to attend this morning. We are grateful for the outstanding support which he has given to her Majesty, for his service in defence of our country, and for his contribution to countless charities and good causes. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme is but one example. It is now celebrating 60 years of offering young people the chance to shine, to serve others and to embrace new challenges and activities in more than 140 countries. There are 2.4 million recipients of the award in the United Kingdom alone, and even your Lordships may be among them. We are also grateful to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for his presence today. The work of the Prince’s Trust is but one of the many initiatives he has taken to the benefit of our country I understand that Her Majesty the Queen has never missed a day at Royal Ascot since her coronation. I hope that there was sufficient time today for her to maintain that tradition and that she will be rewarded for her outstanding devotion to duty by her horse Dartmouth repeating last year’s success and bringing her total up to an impressive 24 Royal Ascot winners. I know little about racing, and bet on horses if I like the name, so my tips for Ascot this week are: Queen’s Trust, Top Beak and Queen of Time At church on Sunday, our rector informed us that we were entering ordinary time in the Church’s calendar. Well, it might feel like that on the Bishops’ Benches but it certainly does not feel like that on these Benches, for it is a pretty extraordinary period in politics. Our Prime Minister, it seemed, could walk on water a few months ago and is now subject to vile attacks on all sides. She does not deserve this; nor is it in our country’s interest to trash our Prime Minister at a time of great uncertainty. She is a good, competent, Christian woman, who served for a record period as Home Secretary in a department traditionally seen as an elephants’ graveyard. She may not be a flashy PR campaigner but she has the skills and experience needed to govern and navigate the Scylla and Charybdis that is Brexit. Our national security is threatened by fanatical terrorists and the negotiations began this week to secure our future as an independent country. Alea iacta est—the die has been cast. We are, by law, leaving the European Union in March 2019, and the months ahead should be devoted to getting the best deal for jobs and prosperity for our United Kingdom. Surely we can all agree on that. I believe that we have a duty to unite behind the Prime Minister at this time in the wider interests of our country While fighting the election campaign, the Prime Minister had to deal with the atrocities in Manchester and Southwark, and now the appalling attack on Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park and the unspeakable horror of the fire in Kensington. The unimaginable trauma of the men, women and children trapped in that inferno and the loss to their families has, as Her Majesty pointed out, shocked and saddened the whole country. I recall the same sickening feeling as a new Minister in the Scottish Office in 1988 when 228 oil- workers were trapped on the burning offshore platform Piper Alpha and 167 people were drowned or burned to death. The public inquiry, conducted by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, reported in 13 months with 100 expert-led recommendations, which fundamentally changed the safety culture of the whole oil and gas industry—not just in the North Sea but across the world. This example of effective action is what is promised in the gracious Speech following the Grenfell Tower catastrophe. In addition, immediate measures are required to ensure that people living in high-rise buildings and social housing can be assured of their safety and that the survivors and families of the victims of this tragic fire are housed and supported in every way possible. That is what the Prime Minister has ordered should be done Now, let us face it: the election campaign was not the Tory party’s finest hour. There were some unexpected highlights, however. Alex Salmond—