The British press now finds itself in a Crisis of Legitimacy, so relentlessly do some of its members pursue people in their private lives.

I believe - this is meant, in a way, to be helpful to the Government - that something approaching a Crisis of Legitimacy is currently evident.

As we all know, there is a serious enough Crisis of Legitimacy in child support at the moment.

but if the Government are concerned about a Crisis in Legitimacy between two elected Chambers, it would be reasonable to have a single-Chamber Parliament.

I do not want to propose options and get into the detail of the White Paper, because that would bog down the debate; but if the Government are concerned about a Crisis in Legitimacy between two elected Chambers, it would be reasonable to have a single- Chamber Parliament.

The Crisis of Legitimacy, which is at the heart of the EU, rightly gives rise to much soul searching.

What we have is, quite simply a Crisis of Legitimacy.

My noble and gallant friend Lord Inge and my noble friend Lord Skidelsky have already spoken of a serious planning failure and a Crisis of Legitimacy.

That strikes me as a Crisis of Legitimacy and of confidence with much deeper roots than is often appreciated when we exchange blows about the EU and the mechanics of EU decision making.

My hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon was absolutely right that there is now a Crisis of Legitimacy, which the elites ignore at their peril.

The thing that I read was a pamphlet, Cultural Value and the Crisis of Legitimacy, published earlier this year by Demos, which reflects usefully on issues that came up through the peer review that I chaired.

The presidential run-off elections in Zimbabwe last year created a Crisis of Legitimacy for Mugabe and an embarrassing difficulty for SADC - for example, the President of Botswana courageously refused to recognise Mugabe as head of state.

The issue is so important, and my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby is correct to bring it up at this point because we are facing a Crisis in the Legitimacy of our constitutional arrangements.

This breeds a Crisis of Legitimacy: even if the next Government have a clear parliamentary majority, they are unlikely to have been voted for by more than 35 per cent of the electorate.

I am amazed that this has not led to a greater Crisis of Legitimacy, for the shamelessness of the bankers far outstrips that of the expenses scandal.

The Government argue that there is a great Crisis of Legitimacy in the European Union.

We have a Crisis of Legitimacy; the rise of disconnect of the peoples of Europe from the institutions of the European Union; a collapse in economic growth, including now in Germany; a lack of competitiveness, big demographic challenges; high unemployment and high budget deficits and debts right across the European Union.

Public opinion is not often cited in debates on Britain's foreign policy or international development, but on issues from Europe to Britain's global military interventions there is a sense of a Crisis of Legitimacy when decisions are taken that people have not been consulted about or that do not align with their values.

I know that Parliament currently faces a Crisis of Legitimacy in the eyes of the country, but the cause of that crisis is not the other place.

The Bill addresses no evident Crisis of the Legitimacy of our constitution, yet it threatens to create a political crisis on top of an economic crisis.

When you have an information-age economy and a one-party state you may get the ability for spontaneous mobilisation alongside a Crisis of Legitimacy, which is an unhappy mix.

For Parliament, it might be argued that there was something that looked like the possible beginnings of a Crisis of Legitimacy in the 1970s, but there is no sign of such a crisis today Questions of trust are valuable tracking devices for changes, but there are dangers that we should be alert to in generalising about the public perception of probity.

Does he agree that, if any incoming Government sought to repeal the Act and give powers to a Prime Minister who had not been directly elected by the people, that would create a real Crisis of Legitimacy and be seen as a power grab by the party that had won the election?

We have a Crisis of Legitimacy in our democracy.

Even then, there would also still be the democratic deficit or what Andrew Tyrie MP, the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee in another place, has called a Crisis of Legitimacy - because that is what it is.