Comments on: Second chambers http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/ Life and Work in the House of Lords Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:38:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: howridiculous http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1351 howridiculous Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:38:39 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1351 Thank you, Lord Norton, that is very helpful. Howridiculous. Thank you, Lord Norton, that is very helpful.

Howridiculous.

]]> By: lordnorton http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1350 lordnorton Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:11:06 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1350 Howridiculous: I have not done a count, but they are very varied, both politically and geographical. I have spoken in a range of legislatures as well as simply visiting others. They include legislatures in South, Central and North America - I have spoken, for example, in the parliaments of Brazil, Mexico and Canada - as well as in Europe and, more far flung, Hong Kong. In some countries, I have also visited state or subnational legislatures. My visits have invariably been as an academic though my parliamentary role has often been stressed by my hosts as much as my academic qualifications. I attribute this to the fact that to many a lord is more of a rarity than a professor. Howridiculous: I have not done a count, but they are very varied, both politically and geographical. I have spoken in a range of legislatures as well as simply visiting others. They include legislatures in South, Central and North America – I have spoken, for example, in the parliaments of Brazil, Mexico and Canada – as well as in Europe and, more far flung, Hong Kong. In some countries, I have also visited state or subnational legislatures. My visits have invariably been as an academic though my parliamentary role has often been stressed by my hosts as much as my academic qualifications. I attribute this to the fact that to many a lord is more of a rarity than a professor.

]]> By: howridiculous http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1349 howridiculous Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:21:55 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1349 Lord Norton, I wonder if you could tell us how many other Parliaments you have visited and whether those visits have been as an academic or as a parliamentarian or as both! Howridiculous. Lord Norton,

I wonder if you could tell us how many other Parliaments you have visited and whether those visits have been as an academic or as a parliamentarian or as both!

Howridiculous.

]]> By: Adrian Kidney http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1348 Adrian Kidney Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:54:28 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1348 I am atheist, myself - but I don't find the presence of the 26 bishops and archbishops of the Church of England in the House of Lords particularly repugnant. Many other faiths in Britain actually support it being there, the loudest detractors normally coming from within the Church. It actually serves to secularise culture rather than evangelise it, and prevents churches from being the preserve of the insanely devout, as I like to call them. I am atheist, myself – but I don’t find the presence of the 26 bishops and archbishops of the Church of England in the House of Lords particularly repugnant. Many other faiths in Britain actually support it being there, the loudest detractors normally coming from within the Church. It actually serves to secularise culture rather than evangelise it, and prevents churches from being the preserve of the insanely devout, as I like to call them.

]]> By: lordnorton http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1347 lordnorton Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:50:26 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1347 ladytizzy: I am not sure there is much to comment on regarding the current legislative status of Scotland, not least since it is a unicameral and not a bicameral legislature. As I have mentioned previously, the Scottish Parliament may possibly benefit from a second chamber. At the moment, it succeeds in passing the amount of legislation that it does because of the provision for Legislative Consent (previously Sewel) Motions, inviting Westminster to extend Bills covering England and Wales to Scotland. The use of such motions has been far more extensive than anticipated. However, the main issue affecting Scotland is not so much legislative as constitutional and political. The two are linked, not least in terms of the failure to keep the machinery for resolving disputes between Westminster and Holyrood in good working order during the period that the same party was dominant in both. On this, see the Constitution Committee report, ´Devolution: Inter-Institutional Relations in the United Kingdom´ (2003). We warned then that the same party would not always be in control in Westminster and Holyrood and this needed to be anticipated and not ignored. ladytizzy: I am not sure there is much to comment on regarding the current legislative status of Scotland, not least since it is a unicameral and not a bicameral legislature. As I have mentioned previously, the Scottish Parliament may possibly benefit from a second chamber. At the moment, it succeeds in passing the amount of legislation that it does because of the provision for Legislative Consent (previously Sewel) Motions, inviting Westminster to extend Bills covering England and Wales to Scotland. The use of such motions has been far more extensive than anticipated. However, the main issue affecting Scotland is not so much legislative as constitutional and political. The two are linked, not least in terms of the failure to keep the machinery for resolving disputes between Westminster and Holyrood in good working order during the period that the same party was dominant in both. On this, see the Constitution Committee report, ´Devolution: Inter-Institutional Relations in the United Kingdom´ (2003). We warned then that the same party would not always be in control in Westminster and Holyrood and this needed to be anticipated and not ignored.

]]> By: lordnorton http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1346 lordnorton Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:07:45 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1346 James: The answer, in part, depends on whether one of the bodies I refer to in the post - the Guardian Council in Iran - is treated as a second chamber. Iran has an elected chamber but measures it passes then have to be considered by the Guardian Council - an appointed body that includes clerics - to ensure that they comply with the constitution and sharia law. In the event of a dispute, a measure can back and forth betweeen the chambers (the navette) as in many other bicameral systems. Some may think the Guardian Council has the attributes of a constitutional court, but its decisions are not defintive (as reflected in the existence of the navette procedure). Disputes between the chambers can be resolved by reference to what in effect has the characteristics of a constitutional court, the Expediency Council. James: The answer, in part, depends on whether one of the bodies I refer to in the post – the Guardian Council in Iran – is treated as a second chamber. Iran has an elected chamber but measures it passes then have to be considered by the Guardian Council – an appointed body that includes clerics – to ensure that they comply with the constitution and sharia law. In the event of a dispute, a measure can back and forth betweeen the chambers (the navette) as in many other bicameral systems. Some may think the Guardian Council has the attributes of a constitutional court, but its decisions are not defintive (as reflected in the existence of the navette procedure). Disputes between the chambers can be resolved by reference to what in effect has the characteristics of a constitutional court, the Expediency Council.

]]> By: James http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1345 James Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:23:18 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1345 Is the UK the only democracy to have seats in its second chamber for a particular religion? Is the UK the only democracy to have seats in its second chamber for a particular religion?

]]> By: ladytizzy http://lordsoftheblog.net/2008/07/28/second-chambers/comment-page-1/#comment-1344 ladytizzy Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:34:47 +0000 http://lordsoftheblog.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-1344 Fascinating. Good luck with giving Iraq democracy. What are your thoughts on the current legislative status of Scotland? Fascinating. Good luck with giving Iraq democracy.

What are your thoughts on the current legislative status of Scotland?

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