Alistair Lexden hosted the annual dinner of the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Food, Drink and Agriculture Group which was held this year in the dining room of the House of Lords on February 25.
The food and drink were particularly fine, as befitted an occasion attended by some 80 leading professionals engaged in marketing our country’s produce at home and abroad.
The principal speaker was Giles Turrell, Chief Executive of the Weetabix Food Company. He presented Alistair, a Weetabix addict, with a large box of Weetabix products to keep him supplied for several months.
The host took the opportunity to market the central purpose of the Lords today: scrutinising and amending government legislation far more fully than the Commons. Over a thousand amendments are made to Bills every year. The importance of its role had been underlined the previous day by long debates on amendments to the Scotland Bill. Leading lawyers and constitutional experts in the House made clear to the government that improvements were essential if serious constitutional disputes between the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments were to be avoided in the future.