Just as Lords of the Blog has become active again, so too has the Palace of Westminster. The new MPs are starting to find their way around what, for some, is completely unfamiliar territory. The first floor of Portcullis House has been given over to providing help and training to new Members. As a result, the main buzz of activity is in Portcullis House rather than in the Palace. Yesterday afternoon, for example, all the tables in the Atrium were occupied. Some peers are also around, not least and not surprisingly Liberal Democrat peers. However, the Lords will not become a hive of activity until next week when Parliament resumes for the swearing-in of Members. For us, induction of new members will come much later – once new peers have been announced. Who they will be, and how many of them there are, remains to be seen.
To duplicate a discussion on your own blog, to make party-political peers reflect the percentage of votes in the election, there need to be 40 to 50 each of Conservative and Lib Dem peers, assuming no or very few new Labour peers. Is this at all realistic?
I can’t make it this session despite a tentative invitation from George Osborne, late last year,supported by both sides. I was charmed but the HofL at close quarters is not for me.
It is also interesting that a good many former labour MPs who have now retired
will not have a seat in the Lords.