Responses from Peers to CB4EU

With the House of Lords debating the EU (Withdrawal) Bill in March 2018, CB4EU wrote to all of the Peers involved in the debate (over 200 of them!).

We received a number of very encouraging responses – which you can read below.

I appreciate your thoughtful email.  We are on the same side.

Lord Heseltine

 

My views are close to yours. Many of your points will be taken up after Easter when the Lords will be voting on the Report Stage of the EU Withdrawal Bill.

Lord Hannay of Chiswick

 

Good to hear from you.

I am pleased to be able to help as my mother was Principal Nursing Officer in Barnet many years ago.

I warmly welcome the great campaign being conducted by Chipping Barnet in Europe to help save us from the looming disaster that is Brexit. It is one of a growing number of local action groups around the country which I believe could halt a policy that would involve economic misery and increasing isolation.

Our work to challenge the Withdrawal Bill in the Lords is greatly strengthened by the growing grass-root opposition to Brexit that Chipping Barnet in Europe represents.

I hope we can at the very least get an opportunity for the British people to think again when we know what kind of deal has been negotiated

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

 

I wholly agree.  But with two divided political parties (I’m a crossbencher) getting any movement is seriously difficult. At present it is Parliamentary skirmishing but only at report stage will there be holes knocked in the lamentable (constitutionally inadequate AND incompetent) Withdrawal Bill. I spoke yesterday on the Irish border issues.  Which may prove to be the crunch issue.  Lord Patten’s amendment.

Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve

 

Thanks for your message. I’m in total agreement with you and wish you and the Chipping Barnet group all the best.

Roger

Lord Roberts of Llandudno

 

Thank you so much for your informative message.

There are many of us in the House of Lords who would entirely agree with what you have to say. We are challenging the Bill and each and every of its clauses. After Easter the Report stage will begin and there will be many, many votes. I suspect the Government will lose the majority of them.

That said the Bill then, rightly, has to go back to the House of Commons and we will probably have a spate of ping-pong – the Bill going back and forth between the Houses until some kind of an agreement is reached.

Baroness D’Souza

 

Dear Mr Earl
Thank you for your email.  Please keep up the pressure on your local MP and any other MPs who will listen.  Also use social media to put your well-argued case.

Please note that votes in the House of Lords will be mainly at Report stage.

Best wishes

Hylton
Lord Hylton

 

Dear Martin

I completely agree with you! I wish more people could understand that democracy does not stay frozen in time. If what people voted for cannot be delivered, then we have to see what they want in light of new information. People voted to be better off, have lots more money for the NHS, have lower immigration, exact same benefits, not change to the Irish Border, new free trade deals on top of our old ones – the only element of this that will be delivered is lower immigration.

Ros

Baroness Ros Altmann, CBE

 

Thank you Martin,

I am completely on the same side as you around this matter. we are doing what we can to get some sanity into our Government’s decisions, but it will be the House of Commons that will have to really have the guts to get fundamental change.

Kind regards Robin Teverson

Lord Teverson

 

Dear Mr Earl
Thank you for this long, detailed and well argued email. I agree with much but by no means all of what you say. I in particular agree that there must be a meaningful vote in Parliament at the end of the negotiations.
Best wishes
Christopher Tugendhat
Lord Tugendhat
 
Dear Martin,
Thank you for your analysis of Brexit thus far on behalf of Chipping Barnet for Europe. I can assure that they are points that I and my colleagues are making as the European Withdrawal Bill makes its way through the House of Lords.
                  Your views were welcome and well made.
                                               Best regards, Tom McNally
Lord McNally

No time to respond fully, but I agree and my party is doing all it can
Lorely
Baroness Burt of Solihull
 

Dear Mr Earl

I completely agree! We expect the key votes in the Lords to come after Easter and I shall certainly vote accordingly.

Best wishes

Graham Tope

Lord Tope CBE

 

I agree – including that a meaningful vote must be meaningful in terms of individual MPs.  A lot of work is going on behind the scenes in the Lords, across parties, with the strategy of cross-party amendments on the most important issues (frustrating – there are so many issues).  This is why my party is supporting rather than leading on a number of matters.  We are doing our best, and will continue to do so.

Thank you for writing.

Sally Hamwee

Baroness Hamwee

 

We are certainly doing everything we can….
Best wishes,
Baroness Harris of Richmond

You can rely on me in this regard
Best wishes for all that you do
Ros Scott
Baroness Scott of Needham Market
Follow me on Twitter @baronessros
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You are absolutely right – I’ll do my best too!  TonyTony Berkeley

Lord Berkeley

 

As you turn over in bed around 0030 tomorrow morning, spare a thought for those of us who will be fighting this in the Lords, still on our feet at that hour, on the sixth day of 11 in committee (with a further six on report to follow).  We have NOT given up!

William Wallace

Rt.Hon.Lord Wallace of Saltaire