The House has elected a new Lord Speaker: Baroness D’Souza (pictured). She will take up the post on 1 September, succeeding Baroness Hayman. You can read details, including the breakdown of the votes, here.
Baroness D’Souza led in every round, being elected, after four candidates were eliminated, by 296 votes to 285 for Lord Colwyn.
I thought she would win shame i did not put any money on it! She has a hard act to follow.
Too many women…. I yearn to hear a man’s strong, decisive voice instead of the puny substitute we have to put up with so frequently.
Congratulations to Baroness D’Souza. At least she’s already demonstrated that she can type 🙂
(Although Baroness Hayman didn’t seem to be suffering from the lack of it.)
Commons Speakers get offered a peerage when they step down from their post. What do Lords Speakers get?
Not happy! It should have been you; instead it was ewe?
Does the Lord Speaker have to apply skills of Unbiased Facilitation, and of ‘Chairmanship’ …
What is required of the two Speakers, the same abilities, duties and powers in each House ?
1448PM.W20
There are some Speaker election anomalies at work in both houses of Parliament that need resolving in order to protect the Monarchy from unknowingly being tainted by the Privy Council?
Surviving Commons Speakers prior to election to office were not Privy Councillors. Surviving Lord Speakers were Privy Councillors before taking office. Privy Councillors are appointed for life.
Should the Commons constitutional precedent override that of the House of Lords by virtue of its primacy? The difficulty arises out of the necessary lack of transparency in the oath taken by Privy Councillors: “and will keep secret all Matters committed and revealed unto you, or that shall be treated of secretly in Council”.
The problem arises in the fair and impartial suffrage to be enjoyed by either house in the election of their respective Speakers. What would be unknown to either house on pain of betrayal is that the regent or its delegated authority could advise Privy Councillors to invest their vote contrary to the best practices of suffrage.
The rules should perhaps be reviewed such that an existing Privy Councillor cannot be a candidate in Speaker elections but may safely acquire the status of Privy Councillor once in office.
This is a matter for the Clerk of Parliaments. If one accepts the primacy of Commons constitutional precedent then Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, by default should now be the new Lord Speaker.
Ref: Lord Speakers; Commons Speakers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the_British_Privy_Council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Speakers_of_the_British_House_of_Commons
Privy Council Oath; Term of Office
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom
@Senex: It may a good idea if the Monarchy did a little more protecting of itself. For example: Horny Princes who like friends that run questionable massage parlours in order to get their gnarled hands on the latest thrilling half child, half woman, nymphet, surely is not the way to go. Neither is marrying a half wit who, after taking a degree at a respectable university, still can’t spell a simple thank you note.
On top of that, they may like to raise their offspring to be at least half presentable individuals, the kind an average man could, once more, esteem. I know that may be easier said than done when you only produce young without sizable grey matter, but, it would help if they tried a little up market breeding. As this sucking from the lower shelf is only going to make things worse.
Animal husbandry courses could lend a hand here I think.