Welcome to the latest edition of Letter of the Lords the weekly newsletter aimed at shining a light into the

e work the partys peers are doing in the second chamber. Why not let us know what you think? Email the newsletter onlordsmedia@libdems.org.uk. And thats also the address to give to friends, colleagues and loved ones to sign up too. Plus dont forget to keep up to date with the blog at libdemlords.org.uk and follow us on Twitter at@LibDemLords.

IN THE CHAMBER

The Bill legalising same-sex marriages returned to the Lords once again this week, this time passing at Report stage. As in previous stages, opponents of the Bill tabled a series of amendments to it many all but identical to those previous tabled and defeated. In fact, so similar were they that Baroness Barker took to tweeting about them with the hashtag #hearditallbeforeDear Lord Dear being the crossbench peer who has attempted to torpedo the legislation from the outset picking up numerous retweets in the process. In all five amendments were defeated. These included one creating two separate legal definitions of marriage, which would have undermined the entire Bill, and another which would have allowed registrars to opt out of conducting same-sex marriages. In all Lib Dem peers had the highest turnout in four out of five votes across the Bills Report stage and the highest percentage of any group voting not content in every single Report stage vote showing the groups firm support of equality. Baroness Kramer told the House: I moved the first civil partnership motion at my partys conference in 2001, having turned to my noble friend Lord Lester for legal advice. I am happy and honoured that that process played a role in bringing us to the incredibly important civil rights legislation that we have in front of us today. I did so motivated by close family and friends who are bisexual, gay and straight but who believe that these changes are extremely important. The Bill will return for its Third Reading on Monday.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK Listening to the little exchange that has taken place in the past few minutes between two distinguished noble friends who are members of the Conservative Party led me to think about whether an alliance between Ukip and the Tory Party which, of course, had been mooted might be regarded as a same-sex marriage. Lord Carlile of Berriew sounds the wedding bells for the flirting right-wing parties.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Great @UK_Music launch this evening. Delighted to be their Equality Ambassador. Also got to meet Sandie Shaw :) Baroness Hussein-Ece (@meralhece) who, as a whip, knows nothing about puppets on strings, meets the Eurovision winner.

Lord Storey led a debate on the impact of music upon tourism, calling on the Government to implement a well-defined music strategy. He told the Lord that he had been concerned for many years that the benefits music heritage could have on tourism werent being properly realised. As a Liverpudlian and former council leader I have seen first-hand the positive impact music can make on local tourist economies, he said. But we must also consider the impact music tourism can have on the country as a whole.

Following the election of Hassan Rouhani as Irans new President, Baroness Williams of Crosby used a Question in the House to ask the Government if it would re-establish full diplomatic relations to mark his inauguration. Noting his reforming credentials, she told peers: In the past week, he has not only called for the clergy to cease to interfere in the private lives of Iranians and called upon Iranian state television and radio to address Irans problems much more honestly and fairly, but has also said that the young people of Iran will benefit from having clear access to the inter net. Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi said the Government had no plans to have a diplomatic presence in Iran.

Lord Addington asked the Government what steps it was taking to make apprenticeships accessible to dyslexic people. The fact remains that dyslexia is a problem that affects people in reading and writing, that a written assessment is made at the end of an apprenticeship, and assistive technology, which is made available to those in the university sector, is not allowed to be used, he told peers. Lib Dem Minister Baroness Garden of Frognal said she would set up a meeting to ensure technology was considered.

And Lord Palmer of Childs Hill used a Question on the Trident review to ask if its purpose was to reduce the number of nuclear weapons at sea and on land and that that is part of the non-proliferation effort that we are all engaged in. That, he told the Lords, was the purpose of the Bill. Lib Dem Minister Lord Wallace of Saltaire said that under current plans the UK would further reduce the number of nuclear weapons deployed in recent years.

BEST OF THE BLOG

This week Baroness Jolly outlined the evidence she gave to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration on the Governments recent suggestion it would charge people who arrived in the UK before they used the NHS, whileLord Storey called for a well-defined music strategy to attract tourists to the UK.

WHATS COMING UP MONDAY Third Reading of Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. TUESDAY Lord Chidgey to ask the Government what progress it has made in developing the aid effectiveness indicators outlined at the High Level Forum in Busan. FRIDAY Second reading of Lord Sharkeys Private Members Bill pardoning computer scientist Alan Turing, convicted of homosexuality in 1952. For more detailed information on what's coming up in the Lords, click here.

Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs. Dwight D. Eisenhower

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