§ Lord PeartMy Lords, I wish to pay a tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Soames, who has served this House magnificiently over the last two years. He has in my opinion been a good Leader who had the interests of the House at heart and was most thoughtful. When the noble Lord was Minister of Agriculture in another place, I was his shadow and naturally followed his political career very closely. He was a good Minister for the country, and the noble Lord always extended me courtesy and consideration.
The noble Lord's career has been highly distinguished in the diplomatic service as Ambassador to France, and we shall always remember his latest contribution together with the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, in bringing about a settlement in Zimbabwe. On all sides of the House we have been proud of him as our Leader, and we should like to extend to him and to his wife, whom we all think of as Mary, our affection and warmest wishes.
I should like to congratulate the new Leader of the House and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as she is the first woman to be appointed to these offices. Today history is being made. This will be the first time that a woman leads the House of Lords. I am sure her appointment will give special pleasure to all 2 our lady Members who work so hard both in and outside the Chamber.
At this point I should like to quote the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, because it is good advice which was given to me when I was Leader, and I hope the advice will be followed through now. He said that a Leader of the House of Lords is not primarily a party leader. He is the leader of all of us, representative of our interests, guardian of our privileges, and spokesman and defender of this House.
I am sure that the noble Baroness will bear with me in listening to one more past Leader, the noble Lord, Lord Shackleton, who said that one of the jobs of the Leader of the House is to ensure that this House, which has an important job to do, is not just forgotten. There is no one with the powers of a Speaker, for example, as in another place. This House depends upon the co-operation of all Members.
In conclusion I should like to wish the noble Baroness well from this side of the House. But, although she will always find us courteous and kind, she will also find that we are here as opponents to her policies, and will continue in the task of an Opposition to oppose all that we consider unjust.
§ Lord GladwynMy Lords, I am sure that everybody in the House, irrespective of party, will shed a tear that the noble Lord, Lord Soames, is no longer our Leader, for he was invariably sympathetic and helpful and anxious that there should be a fair apportionment of time between the parties. Besides, one had the impression that he believed in the role that the House of Lords might play in our national life, and was even prepared to give expression, in Cabinet, to what might be called the mood of this House when he thought that it was sensible and necessary.
For of course he himself was the embodiment of political sense, and in his political career he has usually been right. He was—and here I speak with a certain knowledge—a really first-class Ambassador in Paris, and an equally admirable Commissioner in Brussels. Often I was lost in admiration for the way in which he put his case across to that, in some ways, rather 3 difficult body, the European Parliament. And who but he could possibly have pulled off so successfully that final negotiation in Zimbabwe? A great figure has left the Government Front Bench. If it is at all true that his departure was in some way the result of certain differences of opinion, it is, I suppose, possible that in view of his past record he was not necessarily in the wrong!
However, we can all greet with pleasure a new Leader of the House who I am sure from the earliest age seems to have demonstrated her capacity for leadership. Nobody can have any doubt about the noble Baroness's ability or about the way in which she will conduct herself as Leader. She is therefore sure to give firm and sensible direction to our work, and I think that we shall also be able to have her sympathy in our many difficulties.
Perhaps, like the noble Lord, Lord Peart, has done, we should also salute the fact that for the first time in our history we have a woman Prime Minister in the House of Commons and a woman Leader in the House of Lords. The one is noted for her firmness of purpose and for a total inability to perceive any alternative to the policy which she pursues. That may be all right in the other place, but I rather think that here we sometimes prefer alternatives. We must therefore hope that our new Leader, like her predecessor, will occasionally appreciate this feature of our House and even represent it to the powers-that-be. In any case, I assure her that we on these Benches sincerely welcome her appointment and much look forward to co-operating with her.
§ Baroness Hylton-FosterMy Lords, I am sure that those sitting on the Cross Benches would also like to be associated with the tributes already paid to the noble Lord, Lord Soames, who, as a most distinguished Leader of this House, was, as has already been said, the Leader for us all irrespective of party or no party. We thank him for a job well done and wish him well. We also wish to congratulate and welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Young, and wish her well with her new and very great responsibilities.
§ Lord AylestoneMy Lords, I wish on behalf of this Back Bench to say a few words in support of the message of tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Soames. We as a new party were most grateful to him for his help with matters of procedure and protocol, and not least for finding us some accommodation when we were formed a few months ago. He was always most generous and kind to us and we greatly appreciated that.
It is not easy for a distinguished politician, very much a political man, to become Leader of the House—of this or the other House—in which position he must adopt a non-political attitude. But Lord Soames did that with a great deal of dignity and, perhaps of equal importance, with a great deal of humour. I am sure we shall miss him, but in wishing him well in his retirement, we extend to his successor our very best wishes and we are sure that she will follow in his footsteps and give us all valuable and good service.
The Lord Bishop of RochesterMy Lords, we on these Benches would like very much to be associated with what has been said about the former Leader of 4 the House, whose urbanity and sensitivity to the needs of all groups in this House we greatly respected. We also wish to welcome the new Leader and to assure her that the bishops will be no more troublesome to her than they have been in the past, and indeed in deference to her we might even be a little better behaved.
§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Baroness Young)My Lords, I am glad that my first remarks as Leader of your Lordships' House should be to join in the generous tributes which have been paid by the noble Lords, Lord Peart and Lord Gladwyn, the noble Baroness, Lady Hylton-Foster, the noble Lord, Lord Aylestone, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Rochester, to my noble friend Lord Soames. In doing so, I know I can associate not only my noble friends on the Front Bench but also those noble Lords and Baronesses who sit behind me with everything that has been said. I assure the House that I shall draw to his attention the tributes which have been paid and particularly the obvious affection with which they have been expressed. I know that many of your Lordships will have respected, as I have, those qualities of leadership, of friendship and of his obvious enjoyment of life which he has shown to such good effect over the years in what has been a most distinguished and varied career.
Both the noble Lords, Lord Peart and Lord Gladwyn, mentioned his time as Governor of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. His achievement was perhaps one of the most remarkable in our recent history, and I know the House as a whole took great pride in the fact that he performed his task there not only as a Member of your Lordships' House but also as its Leader. During his two and half years as Leader my noble friend was also responsible for a number of departments of state, principally the Civil Service Department, with its management role for the whole of the Civil Service, a service about which, I know, my noble friend felt strongly and which I have heard him say in your Lordships' House compares well with any in the world.
I must also thank noble Lords for their very kind references to myself. I have been a Member of the House for just 10 years, but in that time I have come to realise that to be Leader of the House, in some ways a position which is unique in parliaments of the world, is a very great privilege indeed and carries with it great responsibilities. I shall do all I can to serve the House, to further its interests and to be accessible to Members on all sides of the House whatever may be their political convictions.