Four former chancellors: Lords Lamont, Lawson, Howe of Aberavon and Healey. John Major has, of course, declined to take a seat in the Lords.
Foreign secretaries is a bit more tricky. I certainly needed to look that up. Are there also four: Lords Hurd of Westwell, Howe of Aberavon, Carrington and Owen?
One question stuck me when considering former chancellors: how many senior cabinet posts have never been held by a woman?
Incidentally, why isn’t this post showing on the front page of the blog? I read it in my RSS reader, but was puzzled not to see it when I visited the site.
Croft
09/05/2009 at 2:56 pm
Owen, Car(r)ington, Howe, Hurd
Healey, Howe, Lawson, Lamont
lordnorton
09/05/2009 at 7:53 pm
Congratulations to Rob, who got in ahead of Jonathan and Croft. He wins this week’s prize.
Jonathan: On senior Cabinet posts never held by a woman, the two most senior are Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Chancellor. On your technical question, I have no idea.
David
13/05/2009 at 12:05 pm
Dear Sir,
I am enquiring as to why there are only Cof E bishops in the House of Lords as I would have thought it to be more democratic to have all the major faiths represented as Lords spiritual.
Yours respectfully,
David A.
A voting tax payer and christian.
Senex
11/05/2009 at 6:45 pm
Lord Norton: “He wins this week’s prize.” Which is? A Commons PPC candidature, a years supply of humble pie, a gravy boat and a Bisto kids poster to constantly remind you that as an MP you will own the pie and nobody is going to take it away from you, least of all those scruffy urchins.
Senex: Well if there was a prize for addressing the elephant in the room no one is mentioning here you’d be a certain winner. It seems inevitable once the commons has finished squirming over its own venality it will no doubt turn on the Lords to make itself feel better. Sadly if the various investigations over peers misconduct don’t complete soon it will give the impression of proceeding at the pace of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Why the house isn’t sorting it’s own new expenses system (external auditing and paying of claims) before it is dragged into doing so in the full tabloid glare amazes me.
Senex
13/05/2009 at 8:03 pm
Croft: The public can claim a form of non-receiptable expense with the acronym PIE.
If you look at the Bisto posters that have been published down the years they reflect how children in society have moved from poverty to relative affluence. It is a Commons success story and one we should be proud of.
As for the PPC, when selected and on becoming an MP it is for life, no further reselection takes place. At one time MP’s had to be reselected every so often but they changed this.
The pie might also be a metaphor for the treasury or the absolute power of the Commons. The captivating aroma that so enthrals the children might be public envy of the special dispensations that have been agreed between HMRC and Parliament.
The unapparent connection is more powerful than the apparent one. (Heraclitus)
Or would you prefer:
“I deal with the obvious. I present, reiterate and glorify the obvious – because the obvious is what people need to be told. (Dale Carnegie)” Except in politics of course!
Two relatively straightforward, and easy, questions this week.
There are currently four former Foreign Sectaries in the House of Lord:
Lord Owen
Lord Carrington
Lord Howe of Aberavon
Lord Hurd of Westwell
And four former Chancellors:
Lord Healey
Lord Howe of Aberavon
Lord Lawson of Blaby
Lord Lamont of Lerwick
Mostly Conservative members although perhaps we will be seeing a few more former Labour ministers on the red benches after the next election.
Four former chancellors: Lords Lamont, Lawson, Howe of Aberavon and Healey. John Major has, of course, declined to take a seat in the Lords.
Foreign secretaries is a bit more tricky. I certainly needed to look that up. Are there also four: Lords Hurd of Westwell, Howe of Aberavon, Carrington and Owen?
One question stuck me when considering former chancellors: how many senior cabinet posts have never been held by a woman?
Incidentally, why isn’t this post showing on the front page of the blog? I read it in my RSS reader, but was puzzled not to see it when I visited the site.
Owen, Car(r)ington, Howe, Hurd
Healey, Howe, Lawson, Lamont
Congratulations to Rob, who got in ahead of Jonathan and Croft. He wins this week’s prize.
Jonathan: On senior Cabinet posts never held by a woman, the two most senior are Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Chancellor. On your technical question, I have no idea.
Dear Sir,
I am enquiring as to why there are only Cof E bishops in the House of Lords as I would have thought it to be more democratic to have all the major faiths represented as Lords spiritual.
Yours respectfully,
David A.
A voting tax payer and christian.
Lord Norton: “He wins this week’s prize.” Which is? A Commons PPC candidature, a years supply of humble pie, a gravy boat and a Bisto kids poster to constantly remind you that as an MP you will own the pie and nobody is going to take it away from you, least of all those scruffy urchins.
Ref: Bisto meat for all dishes.
http://www.pbase.com/jim_lanyon/image/44943085
Senex: Well if there was a prize for addressing the elephant in the room no one is mentioning here you’d be a certain winner. It seems inevitable once the commons has finished squirming over its own venality it will no doubt turn on the Lords to make itself feel better. Sadly if the various investigations over peers misconduct don’t complete soon it will give the impression of proceeding at the pace of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Why the house isn’t sorting it’s own new expenses system (external auditing and paying of claims) before it is dragged into doing so in the full tabloid glare amazes me.
Croft: The public can claim a form of non-receiptable expense with the acronym PIE.
If you look at the Bisto posters that have been published down the years they reflect how children in society have moved from poverty to relative affluence. It is a Commons success story and one we should be proud of.
As for the PPC, when selected and on becoming an MP it is for life, no further reselection takes place. At one time MP’s had to be reselected every so often but they changed this.
The pie might also be a metaphor for the treasury or the absolute power of the Commons. The captivating aroma that so enthrals the children might be public envy of the special dispensations that have been agreed between HMRC and Parliament.
The unapparent connection is more powerful than the apparent one. (Heraclitus)
Or would you prefer:
“I deal with the obvious. I present, reiterate and glorify the obvious – because the obvious is what people need to be told. (Dale Carnegie)” Except in politics of course!
Ref: SE02700 –Personal Incidental Expenses
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/senew/se02700.htm