Summary

  • The House of Lords sat from 10.00 GMT.

  • Peers debated the Medical Innovation Bill, Lord Saatchi's private member's bill, at report stage.

  • They then moved onto the Cohabitation Rights Bill at second reading.

  • The final piece of legislation scheduled for the day was the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Bill at report stage.

  1. Goodbyepublished at 15:13 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    And that's your lot!

    The House of Lords has adjourned for the day, and so our live coverage of Parliament ends for the week.

    We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of the House of Lords today - join us next week for the last few days of Parliament's proceedings for 2014.

  2. Opposition praisepublished at 15:11 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    A number of peers have spoken in favour of the bill, with both the Opposition and government giving their support for the legislation.

    Opposition spokesperson Lord Hunt of Kings Heath says that the bill is timely - if not overdue, and says "how good it is to know that something survives the 2012 House of Lords Reform Bill".

    The bill passes report stage without opposition, and all three amendments are agreed to.

  3. Bill into law?published at 15:05 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

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    Conservative peer Lord Cormack says that the House is indebted to Baroness Hayman for bringing in this bill, and also to Lord Steel - author of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

    Lord Mackay of Clashfern also speaks in support of the bill, saying that he hopes the bill will speedily pass into law.

  4. Lords expenses scandalspublished at 15:05 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    In the wake of the 2009 Parliamentary expenses scandal two members of the House of Lords were jailed.

    Lord Taylor of Warwick was found to have claimed over £11,000 in expenses for a second home owned by his brother.

    Lord Hanningfield was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for six counts of false accounting relating to his expenses.

    Both Lords have since re-taken their seats, although Lord Hanningfield is currently suspended.

  5. What does the bill do?published at 15:04 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    The bill is a private member's bill, introduced by Crossbench peer and former Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman.

    The bill makes provision for Members of the House of Lords to be suspended or be permanently expelled.

    Peers can be suspended, but currently the House has no power to require that the Writ of Summons be withheld. (The Writ of Summons is the "entry ticket" for peers and calls each peer to the House at the start of a Parliament.)

    The House cannot suspend a member for longer than the remainder of the current Parliament. A member of the Lords suspended today would be able to re-take their seat when the new Parliament sits in May.

    A similar measure to the one in this bill was included in the abandoned House of Lords Reform Bill in 2012.

  6. Introducing the billpublished at 14:53 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    House of Lords
    Image caption,

    Baroness Hayman is introducing the debate on report stage of the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Bill.

  7. Moving on...published at 14:53 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    The Lords are being very efficient today; the Cohabitation Rights Bill passes second reading in the House of Lords without opposition.

    We now move on to the report stage of the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Bill.

  8. Debate concludingpublished at 14:48 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames is concluding the debate on the second reading of the Cohabitation Rights Bill.

    Lord Marks says that "it is entirely wrong" to perpetuate a system that has as its default position the notion that the unwilling partner in a relationship may take advantage of the other.

    Lord Marks also says that his bill does not force anyone into the bill's system of redress, but rather changes the default laws for couples who have not made their own legal arrangements, so as to protect people in cohabiting relationships.

  9. Government reservationspublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    Lord Ashton of Hyde outlines the government's position on the bill.

    Lord Ashton says that the government does not consider that proper consideration has taken place in regards to this bill.

    The government will not oppose the bill at second reading, but does have reservations about the changes to the law proposed in the bill.

  10. Reform neededpublished at 14:32 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    Shadow women and equalities minister Baroness Thornton speaks passionately in favour of the bill, saying that the law is "clearly in need of reform".

  11. Opposition in favourpublished at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

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    Shadow women and equalities minister Baroness Thornton speaks in favour of the bill.

  12. Coalition split on bill?published at 14:22 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    Liberal Democrat Peer, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, also speaks in favour of the bill.

    Lord Lester says that he too rejects the accusation that this bill attacks marriage, and says that the Conservative part of the coalition government is opposed to the bill.

    Lord Lester says that he feels that only a Labour, or a Labour coalition government would be able to pass this measure - much to the chagrin of some of his Conservative colleagues.

  13. Postpublished at 14:13 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    TheFamilyLawPractice tweets: Butler-Sloss is fantastic and expresses her support of Cohabitation Rights Bill & suggests a longer of period of cohabitation @ResFamilyLaw

  14. 'No attack' on marriagepublished at 14:11 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Baroness Butler-Sloss speaks forcefully in favour of the bill, drawing on the experience of her long career as a family court judge.

    Baroness Butler-Sloss says that she has been married for 56 years and is a strong supporter of marriage, and she does not see that this bill is an attack on marriage.

  15. Support for billpublished at 14:02 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    House of Lords
    Image caption,

    Former family court judge Baroness Butler-Sloss speaks in support of the bill.

  16. Marriage in churchpublished at 13:53 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Rev Steven Croft, outlines the meaning of marriage and explains what happens during the marriage service, as he responds to the bill.

  17. 'A vote-loser'published at 13:39 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
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    Baroness Deech rises from the crossbenches to speak against the bill - calling it "a real vote-loser" as it assaults the right of people to cohabit without the state getting involved in their personal affairs.

    Baroness Deech says that the bill would reduce people's willingness to commit long term and it would increase the stress of couple breakdown - to the significant detriment of children.

    She says that if enacted this bill would be "the real bedroom tax - share your bedroom and be taxed for ever more".

  18. Event of a breakdownpublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames says that just as it is a choice to get married or join a civil partnership, it is a choice to cohabit - and so the obligations of marriage should be thrust upon a cohabiting couple by the state.

    He says that where a cohabiting relationship breaks down, there should be a mechanism for adjusting the economic impact of the relationship to share the impact more fairly between the parties.

    Lords Marks says that the bill aims to address economic unfairness at the end of a relationship that has enriched one party and impoverished the other in a way that demands redress.

  19. Opening debatepublished at 13:18 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    House of Lords
    Image caption,

    Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames opens the debate on his Cohabitation Rights Bill.

  20. Protection for co-habiting couplespublished at 13:18 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2014

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    We now move on to the second reading of Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames's Cohabitation Rights Bill.

    The bill aims to provide similar protections for co-habiting couples as for married couples.

    In 2012 there were 2.9 million unmarried couples living together, up from 1.5 million in 1996.