§ Lord RichardMy Lords, before we come to today's business, on behalf of my noble friends, and indeed I hope for all noble friends on all sides of the House, I should like to pay a warm tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, who has conducted the affairs of this House for the past two-and-a-half years. He brought to the post a deep experience of public affairs, having served in various ministries over the years. It was an experience which served him well in this House and indeed served the House well.
The noble Lord has a real affection for your Lordships' House, which showed in the way in which he dealt with its affairs. Certainly, within the inevitable limits of the party conflict, we on these Benches felt that he appreciated the needs of the Opposition and tried to be accommodating. We are indeed deeply grateful for that. He was certainly no narrow party leader who saw his only function as subordinating the views and the will of this House to the necessities of government legislation. Who knows, had some of that legislation been better considered at its inception he might still be in office.
His greatest quality as Leader of the House was his fairness. Inevitably, that brings dangers when the Government find themselves in trouble. But, even then, he managed to accept defeats philosophically and with good humour.
From the point of view of the Opposition, he placed us regularly at a very considerable disadvantage. It was very difficult to be annoyed with him for a long period of time and was certainly almost impossible to be disagreeable. But, given the nature of this Chamber, I hope your Lordships will forgive me for saying that in my view in many ways he was an admirable Leader of this House. We greatly hope that the noble Viscount, Lord Cranborne, to whom I have already expressed our good wishes on his assumption of office, will be able to follow the example of the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham.
§ Lord TordoffMy Lords, perhaps I may begin by expressing the regrets of my noble friends Lord Jenkins of Hillhead and Lady Seear. Your Lordships may know that my noble friend Lord Jenkins is convalescing after a serious operation. I am glad to say—and I am sure that noble Lords on all sides of the House will be glad to hear—that he is progressing well and will be restored to us in the autumn. My noble friend Lady Seear unfortunately has another engagement of long standing and the decision to pay these tributes today was made only recently.
592 I echo all that has been said by the noble Lord, Lord Richard. Speaking for the minor part of the Opposition—in numbers at least—I should like to say how important it is to know that we have access to the Leader of the House. To be Leader of the House is not an easy job, particularly for someone who has come from another place where he has held high office and also office concerned with running the business of that place. The atmosphere in this Chamber is completely different. It takes a little time for people who come from the other place to understand that the role is a dual one: first, as an important member of the Cabinet and, secondly, to speak on behalf of all noble Lords on all sides of the House. The noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, certainly did that.
He was always accessible not only to political party leaders but also to all Members of the House from all sides. As the noble Lord, Lord Richard, said, he had a relaxed and charming style which got him out of difficulty on many occasions. Unfortunately, it did not get him out of difficulty at the end of the day. Again, as the noble Lord, Lord Richard, hinted, probably all round the House it would be viewed with regret if it were thought that getting government legislation through this place was all that the Leader of the House had to do. I hope that people at the other end of this building understand that if the legislation that they sent to us were better, it would not get sent back quite so often.
The noble Lord will be missed on the Front Bench. He was able to bring your Lordships' House to order with a very light touch, both in terms of timing and other matters relating to the more difficult issues that we sometimes face. He will be missed in that role. I hope that we shall see him in the Chamber fairly frequently, taking part in the debates. Meanwhile, I take the opportunity to welcome the noble Viscount, Lord Cranborne. He has been here some little time now and will have the feel of the House. I am sure that he will follow very well indeed in the footsteps of the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham.
§ Baroness Hylton-FosterMy Lords, the Cross-Bench Peers would like to be associated with the tributes already paid by the parties to the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham. We too appreciated his wide and distinguished experience in the House of Commons, the speed with which he adjusted himself to the feelings of this House and as Leader of us all. He realised that it was possible to make business run smoothly without the Speaker.
However, what he was not aware of was the phenomenon of the Cross-Bench Peers. We should like to thank him for recognising our existence and for using our expertise as and when it was suitable. We also enjoyed his easy manner in dealing with us all in the House. Finally, we admired his courage in facing up to life after the Brighton bombing.
§ Baroness Hylton-FosterWe wish the noble Lord a very happy future.
593 We extend our congratulations and our welcome to the new Leader of the House, the noble Viscount, Lord Cranborne, and wish him well.
§ The Lord Bishop of SheffieldMy Lords, I should like to associate the Lords Spiritual with the tributes paid to the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham. We gloriously-apparelled birds of passage—migrant magpies perhaps—occasionally, as we touched down on your Lordships' Benches, found ourselves at a loss as to where we turned and what to do next. We are extremely grateful for the kindness and helpfulness shown to us over the years by the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham. I know that gratitude is particularly felt at Lambeth where the Archbishop has greatly been helped and is thankful for the assistance he has been given. I therefore add my words to the thanks already given.
I also extend a welcome to the new Leader whose family has long and at times rather unusual links with the Church of England.
The Lord Privy Seal (Viscount Cranborne)My Lords, the strictures of the right reverend Prelate in his final remarks I take not as a barbed reference but as an enthusiastic welcome. I must say to him and to other noble Lords who have spoken how grateful I am for the generous and kind welcome that I have been given.
Noble Lords paid handsome, generous and well deserved tribute to my noble friend Lord Wakeham. Those who have done so have much longer experience of your Lordships' House than I, and those tributes will therefore carry greater weight than mine for they have seen Leaders come; they have seen Leaders go; and their words carry the persuasiveness that experience brings in its wake. I am sure therefore that my noble friend will savour all the more what noble Lords have said. Nevertheless, I know that the House will expect me to add my own tribute and I am particularly glad to be able to do so.
I am already beginning to discover the part played by my noble friend in the establishment and presentation of government policy in what I am coming to think of as the "Whitehall village". He brought to that task a remarkable experience in government. After all, he was a notable Secretary of State for Energy, as well as Chief Whip and Leader of the House in another place. That is surely a unique full house for any political poker player. As a result, his advice was listened to and, as he was Leader of your Lordships' House, he was able to ensure that the views of this House were conveyed with authority to the innermost recesses of government.
There is something else as well, which was referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Hylton-Foster. My noble friend is also a man of extraordinary courage. It is a courage to which I pay unqualified tribute and it must have been tested to its limit during the aftermath of the appalling tragedy that he suffered at the hands of the IRA murderers. Lesser men have become testy and difficult when subjected to the constant pain that such injuries bring in their wake—a pain that is both physical and mental. As your Lordships will have experienced, he has never allowed that to happen to him.
594 I know from my own experience what your Lordships referred to this morning: that his courtesy remained unfailing and his patience inexhaustible even when, if I may say so, from time to time your Lordships exercised your right at fairly frequent intervals to ask another place to think again. This House, this Government, will miss his skill. I too hope that he will attend our debates and contribute to them frequently. He has already sent me most generous good wishes and I shall certainly seek his advice as often as I can. I am sure that all Members of the House wish both my noble friend and his wife, whose support has been so valuable to him, God speed in the future.