Clonoe Inquest - Commons Urgent Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords am 4:12 pm ar 12 Chwefror 2025.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip), Lords Spokesperson (Northern Ireland Office), Lords Spokesperson (Wales Office), Lords Spokesperson (Scotland Office) 4:12, 12 Chwefror 2025

I thank the noble Lord for his remarks. We owe a huge debt to our Armed Forces, the vast Majority of whom served in Northern Ireland with distinction and many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. The findings of the independent coroner are being considered by the Ministry of Defence, including next steps that I cannot comment on. The matters that happened last week are clearly very important and require very careful reflection. Having said that, we do appreciate the anger and hurt that is being felt by many in Northern Ireland, especially this week of all weeks, given the anniversaries which we are currently reflecting upon.

However, with regard to the reinstatement of inquests, I will be very clear with the noble Lord: I believe that the people of Northern Ireland deserve exactly the same rights as the people of Great Britian. Reinstating civil cases and inquests for the people of Northern Ireland so that they have the same rights as you and me is what we are delivering, and we are making sure that we do so in a lawful way.

majority

The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.