Motion for the Adjournment (Hansard, 19 December 1985)

§ Lord Denham
My Lords, again with the leave of the House, before I move the Adjournment I should like on behalf of my noble friends on these Benches to wish all noble Lords in all other parts of the House a peaceful, restful and non-controversial Christmas and a happy New Year. On behalf, I am sure, of the whole House I should like to express our gratitude to all those who serve us so well in all parts of our end of the Palace of Westminster and to give them our best wishes for a happy Christmas and a very happy New Year.

§ Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
My Lords, may I echo the words of the Government Chief Whip in wishing all of those who look after us in the House a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We think particularly of the people who are very visible—the attendants, the messengers, and those who serve us in the restaurant and bars—but we should also be thinking about people like the cleaners. I certainly notice very quickly if something has gone wrong in that line of business. That is an essential task, done when most of us are not here, when the building is cleaned up and all the mess of the previous day is cleared away. That is a particular category of staff whom we sometimes tend to ignore.
We on this side of the House should like to join with the remarks made by the Chief Whip in wishing everybody a peaceful Recess. In some ways it has been an odd Session up to now. The House has debated a number of highly contentious issues which have divided 948 the House on other than party lines. We shall return, I have no doubt, re-invigorated for what is ahead of us in the New Year. Finally, I should like to take the opportunity of wishing noble Lords in all parts of the House a happy Christmas.

§ Lord Tordoff
My Lords, I apologise particularly to the Chief Whip for not being in my place when he stood up, but having lately returned from the South Atlantic I had been tidying up and had not realised that we had got through the business with such great despatch—as the Chief Whip normally does when we are not looking! It would be appropriate for me to say, on behalf of everybody in this House, how much we wish a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year to those people in the British Forces overseas and also to anybody who is working on behalf of this country in foreign parts. They certainly deserve it and I wish them a peaceful New Year.
I cannot wish the Government a peaceful New Year since Lord Grimond tells me that it is our job from these Benches to harry the Government. In that I speak of the Government collectively and not individually. It is with great pleasure that, from the Liberal Benches, I wish all noble Lords a very happy Christmas. I also wish the staff a happy Christmas and all of us individually a very happy and peaceful New Year.

§ Lord Kilmarnock
My Lords, normally on these issues the Alliance speaks with one voice, but I think that at Christmas time it might, perhaps, be allowed two. On behalf of the SDP I should like to wish noble Lords of all parties and none a very happy Christmas and an enjoyable Recess. This Session to date has provided the Whips with a fairly easy life as so much of the business has been concerned with issues of conscience on which traditionally we in the Opposition parties have a free vote. However this has not meant that debates have been any shorter because many of your Lordships, quite properly, have extremely active consciences. There have thus been some fairly late nights, which our admirable staff have borne with their usual fortitude. I should therefore like to extend to them our grateful thanks and warmest wishes for a very well earned Christmas break. We really depend on them so much that no occasion should be missed for acknowledging this debt. As the Chief Whip said, we owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude, and this is one occasion on which we agree with the Government 100 per cent.