Electing a successor to Baroness Hayman
There are six candidates to succeed Baroness Hayman as Lord Speaker. They are: Lord Colwyn (Con), Lord Desai (Lab), Baroness D’Souza (cross-bench), Lord Goodlad (Con), Baroness Harris of Richmond (Lib Dem), and Lord Redesdale (Lib Dem). Each has issued an election address (limited to 75 words). Three (Colwyn, Desai and Redesdale) stress the self-regulating nature of the House. Four (Colwyn, Desai, D’Souza and Goodlad) stress the outreach work of the occupant of the office. Lord Redesdale is the only one who has stood before and he maintains the same promise – to do as little as possible!
There is a hustings this evening, with the election taking place on Wednesday, 13 July.
Now this list is a reflection of why neither House, Commons or Lords, have any honest connection to the UK Public as a whole.
I checked the voting records of each and not one could get my whole hearted approval in an election.
No wonder we have no true government. They are totally out of touch. How is this possible?
You’re a pleb. They don’t trust you to make a decision.
After all, you might vote to cut off their funds. Heaven forbid, if they had to resort to another expenses nobbling exercise.
After all, what have they done that it has to be a state secret or it would bring the Lords into disrepute?
@LB:
A pleb, well, a must.
Regardless, one of the people they are considering was a central London dentist for many years, as well as a jazz player when he moonlit. He wasn’t bad at that, so the story goes.
Lord Redesdale is the only one who has stood before and he maintains the same promise – to do as little as possible
An admission of value for money if ever I’ve heard one.
Will the noble Lord Balgger partake of a pint of Guiness on me, before making a decision as to which candidate to support?
Parliament offers very special pleasures to neophyte Welshmen like me.
Yesterday I was on my pushbike going through
Parliament square and broke through five read traffic lights whilst overlooked by about 500 policemen forming what seemed like a guard of honour,(the street outside being eerily empty of traffic).
Not one of them batted an eyelid.
I was not arrested, but then I heard whistles following me from Whitehall.
@Twm O’r Nant:
I think the police were there in the expectation of strikers protesting. It is often that way. Horrendous and so really unnecessary. They could be called in if and when. However, its overtime pay or some kind of perk.
Mind you, it is the right place to go for a demo. To the horses mouth, so to speak. And it should be made even prettier with all kinds of civilised perks for the demonstrators when they come. Welcome them rather than banish them.
Which leads to addressing the real issue of traffic in this part of town. That many traffic lights is crazy, money for friends again, as can be proven by Sloane Square. They took out some of those lights there and it runs much smoother. Takes a little adjustment but very painless in fact.
I think this was, in part, because of P. Charles’ influence.
Where are the voting buttons so we can express our preferences in an internet ‘straw poll’ ?
Baroness D’Souza gets my vote…
‘vox populi.. ‘ and all that.
Its ironic Lord Blagger that you have appointed yourself as a ‘Lord’ with your sole purpose in ‘life’ to see the HoL abolished. The irony is that because of outreach you perhaps know more about the HoL than you do the Commons? You are undoubtedly a contradiction in terms.
Lord Colwyn has seen many changes to the house since 1967, a modest man with a cultured charm he would be my choice but only if he supported an indirectly elected house that posed no threat to the primacy of the Commons.
I appoint you Senator Sennex. Lets jump the gun.
Obi-Wan-Kenobi, a personal friend of mine, tells me that the Sennex pirates were slave traders and among the most despicable pirates in the galaxy around the first Galactic Civil War. Appointment!? You would appoint me to serve the Galactic Republic. Never! Never! Never! You can go in my place if you want?
Senex: Are you nominating Lord Blagger to be sent into outer space?
To infinity and beyond! If he were to Buzz off would a light year be enough? Perhaps a parsec then.
Maude Elwes, in relation to Lord Colwyn, says
‘ ………. one of the people they are considering was a central London dentist for many years ……. ‘
Yes Maude, and there lies my dilemma. You see, the Lord Colwyn has always maintained that his main residence for allowance purposes is in the Cotswolds, yet, as you and many others know, he was a dentist in Wimpole Street for decades and the de facto family home was reported as being in Chelsea for this entire period. The Lord Colwyn is even reported as being a member of the Chelsea Residents Association. ‘Residents’ being the operative word. Indeed the Lord Colwyn is (or rather was) very open about his practice of cycling to the House. Not from the Cotswolds one assumes ? The House now needs a fresh start, with all members living within the spirit as well as the letter of the rules. Some Speaker participants simply do not pass muster on this test,. Most bien pensant people would eschew the idea that the House is able to regulate itself. It is not a grace and favour club for toffs, albeit it is currently being treated as one.
@selectiveamnesia: I’m grateful I don’t have your malaise.
When I read this post of yours through, I felt you were biased without evidence. Or, if you had evidence, then you should add it to the post. If the Lord Colwyn fiddled expenses, then this should have been dealt with by those in charge of these matters. And I am not one of them. So, I make no comment on whether he was, or, was not, acting outside of the law.
And my second thought was, a lot of people have friends with a London pied et terre they make available to all kinds of individuals. Companies also do this for many of their employees and often those employees pass them on to others for a rent. The legality of which is not my concern.
My mention of the Lord Colwyn, in respect of Lord Speaker, was because he appears to have a down to earth demeanor, regardless of the fact he is a hereditary peer. Although I am not for unelected peers, I do not exclude them on the grounds of, they may or may not, be a toff. That is absurd. And equivalent to denying a worthy minority, of any persuasion, taking a place they would be an asset in.
I felt this man had worked as a dentist for years. Not the kind of job a toff is likely to aspire to, is it? Even if his practice was in Wimpole Street. And when he followed it up with moonlighting as a jazz band player, how much more down to earth and with the people, could you get. Therefore, he would be a likely candidate for election should he stand. Thus, this has to elevate him in the selection, if one wants an elected chamber. Which I do.
Not to mention, he was the least stuffy on the hustings and his manner was that of a man with genuine ideas and talent.
You, I feel, are an inverted snob. Now where did you get that from?
Oh dear, dear – you completely missed the irony of ‘selectiveamnesia’. Perhaps I was too subtle ?
At the recent trial of Lord Taylor of Warwick, Lord Taylor alleged that Lord Colwyn had mentored him in the finer points of maximising his allowance entitlement. Lord Colwyn, of course, denied this, leading to Taylor’s defence QC claiming that Lord Colwyn had ‘selective amnesia’. Now do you get it !
If you are a Telegraph reader, you will recall the article last year regarding Lord Colwyn’s allowances claims. The Telegraph advised that the Colwyn family’s de facto main residence was Chelsea, and they advised that neighbours of his Cotswold Cottage, ‘rarely see him’. Presumably you are not a Telegraph reader.
Notwithstanding the above, the silver spoon hereditary Peers are now in their twilight zone. It would seem rather silly therefore to appoint one as Lord Speaker, which is really my point.
@selectivea:
Oh, dear, dear, are you suggesting a proven liar in a court of law should be believed when trying to squeeze out of his predicament by blaming another for his plight is the way forward for choosing the House of Lords Speaker? Naughty of you.
To take each point you make on their own. If he is guilty of fiddling, as you tell us he is, why have the department that deals with that kind of offense not addressed it? And why have those who select suitable candidates for a position such as this offered him as a prospective choice? If you take the stand you do, then you must think those in the know are all at it with him. So therefore you distrust their judgment immensely. That should have you questioning the others they selected as well. Or, is it only LC they turned a blind eye to?
As far as the Telegraph is concerned, like all newspapers it has an agenda and will print what it chooses to enhance that objective. The Telegraph is a very biased newspaper with a hard right wing view. I can only take it in small doses.
And until Lord Colwyn is exposed as the criminal you claim him to be, I will stay with my preference. I don’t like the look of any of the runners up.
The last point is, have you looked at the others offered up? You must have or you wouldn’t be so outraged at my leaning toward Lord Colwyn. So who is your preference? Lets take a look at their claim to ‘paragonism’ and what it is you think makes them stand out for the post. We can then go over that choice with a fine tooth comb.
telegram for “sa”
“…to understand sensory-motor-amnesia is to understand one of the fundamental causes of the malfunctions we have falsely believed to be the effects of aging.”
(“Somatics” by Hanna page 1).
Best regards; JSDM.