Author Archives: Lord Roger Roberts

We were so near to taking the Conwy seat from the Tories. Only 995 votes separated us. So grateful to those who poured into the constituency to give us their support. Chris Rennard was the mastermind and I remember him organising my sharing a farm trailer with Paddy Ashdown whilst Ann brandished a Vote Rog poster.

David Penhaligon spoke and conducted the financial appeal at a crowded Conwy Town Hall dinner and that was just a week or so before his tragic death. Would our record as a party have been any different if David hadn’t skidded on that black ice ?

Arriving in the House of Lords I was delighted to be welcomed by David Alton, even though he was on the Crossbenches – I’d been there for his Liverpool by-election victory which was such a boost to Liberal fortunes. It’ll be interesting to see what happens there in this May’s Council elections.

David was a regular visitor to the Conwy constituency. Not many people know the Rachub Community Centre where the TV cameras filmed David speaking in front of a broken down hatch whilst Mrs Thatcher and Neil Kinnock addressed the TV World  from elaborate and expensive backgrounds.

“There are certain indispensable qualities essential to the Chief Minister of the Crown in a great war. . . . Such a minister must have courage, composure, and judgment. All this Mr. Asquith possessed in a superlative degree. . . . But a war minister must also have vision, imagination and initiative—he must show untiring assiduity, must exercise constant oversight and supervision of every sphere of war activity, must possess driving force to energize this activity, must be in continuous consultation with experts, official and unofficial, as to the best means of utilising the resources of the country in conjunction with the Allies for the achievement of victory. If to this can be added a flair for conducting a great fight, then you have an ideal War Minister”.

These words of Lloyd George summarise the weaknesses of Asquith as a Prime Minister in times of War and the picture Lloyd George had of himself as the “ideal War Minister” .Already Minister of Munitions he was facing the massive challenge of ensuring that the British Army had the ammunition necessary to fight the Great War.

The Refugee Crisis is especially severe when we look at the fate of those who are young and alone. The United Kingdom is pledged to accommodate those most in need. The Dubs amendment originally called for 3,000 to be allowed into the United Kingdom. This was defeated and I sat on the bench in the Lords as 200 Tories marched through the Not Content lobby. These fathers, mothers and grandparents were trampling on the hopes of thousands of “other” children. Eventually an amendment was approved obliging the government to accept an unspecified number of children. We are told that throughout Europe there are 88,000 unaccompanied asylum seekers.

Much of the current spotlight on Parliament is focussed on the Scottish devolution proposals, which were debated fiercely in the Commons yesterday. This has spearheaded a much needed public discussion about devolution and I welcome these new opportunities. However, as well as being an important issue for Scotland, these debates are equally vital for Wales.

Today’s second Committee Stage debate of the Wales Bill signifies an important step towards easier, engaging and more accessible voter registration in Wales. Today, the Lords will be debate amendments 19 and 20 that have the potential to spark youth engagement with politics in never seen before in Wales. Lord (Paul) Tyler will be I will speaking to these amendments, and Baroness (Jenny) Randerson will reply on behalf of HM Government.