It has been a somewhat frustrating time since the House resumed after the summer recess. Last session, I was busy both with committee work and with legislation before the House. I was on the Constitution Committee, which had a busy – and rewarding – schedule, the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Bill, which was time-consuming and challenging, and the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee, which does important work with little public recognition. I was involved with a number of Bills, both on the floor of the House and in meetings with ministers, not least the Public Bodies Bill and the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill.
As for this session, I remain only on the Merits Committee (or the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee as it is now known); I finished my stint on the Constitution Committee at the end of last session and the Joint Committee ceased to exist once it reported. I was planning to spend more time speaking in the chamber. However, fate intervened. There were debates on three or four successive Thursdays when I would have liked to speak – they were all in my areas of interest. This semester, though, Thursdays are my busy teaching days, so I could not be present. I was preparing to be active in debate on the Electoral Administration and Registration Bill. I spoke briefly on Second Reading. I had notes prepared and amendments tabled for the second and third days of committee stage of the Bill. The Government put the Bill on hold after the first day in committee. My contributions on overseas voting and the edited version of the electoral register wait to be made.
I have no intention of speaking purely for the sake of speaking, so most of my work this autumn has focused on all-party committees and discussing policy options with colleagues, as well as reading the papers for the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee; as the committee does not meet in public, the only record of my activity is my name in the attendance list in the Minutes of meetings.
At the moment, I seem almost to be busier at the other end of the corridor than I am at this, as well as further afield. Last week, I took part in a seminar on civil service reform organised by the Public Administration Select Committee. This week, I am giving evidence to the Procedure Committee on Private Members’ legislation. And in recent weeks I have spoken to legislators in Mexico about legislatures in a new representative age (that was by videolink) and spoken at the Italian Chamber of Deputies on parliaments and legislation. All I need now is to find an opportunity to speak in the Lords!
“…important work with little or no public recognition…”
That’s “democracy”‘s fault, surely, Lord Norton;
virtually the same as it is Theology’s fault that whilst it purports to include (“equally”) all the theologisings, of each of its individual members (millions of ‘faithful heads’ therefore, not just the dictates of the hundred or so governing-senior-priesthood nor even of a score or so ‘laity-synod’ group thinkers),
in an essential attempt to make the operative- democracy/theology true and effectively dealing with our Needs today, and for the foreseeable future
not merely ‘marking-time’ to the ‘drum(s)’ of the Old-New-Past… Testaments … i.e. ‘stuck in conformativeness to Past Situations which shaped those past “democracies” and “theologies”.
[There is a 1990’s book “Let’s Do Theology”; but when we turn to your “Democracy” difficulty, we shall surely need a more ‘know-how’ effective book on
“Let’s Do Democracy” (All-in Participatively and Cooperatively; shan’t we ?
Especially if the State Religion of the Anglican Church fails to train and ‘consecrate’ its leading Women as Bishops; in which event our Parliament is going to legislate State-wise that women be enabled and empowered as Bishops, at least in the Church of England;
ao we shall need some far more effectivising ‘know-how’ than comes from the [otherwise saliently helpful and enlightening] “Let’s Do Theology”,
and its falling-far-short kindred publications).
I have no intention of speaking purely for the sake of speaking,
There is certainly no lack of human induce hot air in parliament at any time or from anybody.
I sympathised with the MP who resigned recently after about 25 years and who had never spoken in the Chamber.
I then realized that he was not a fool.
When he did get to speak, it was to give notice that he was quitting the house of commons!
Rhodri Mawr: I follow the line that it is better not to speak and leave people wondering why you didn’t than it is to speak and leave people wondering why you did.
LN, good one! Heh! Heh!
GH
milesjsd: I should mention that I was explaining and not complaining.
Understood;
yet “Recognition” is a mighty, and compound often complex, Needc and therein Issues Clarification essential that should be frequently-regularly scrutinised and adequated,
in more respects than just having to wait hidden and gagged at the back of a parliamentary queue
to state-our-(public’s)-need;
and for instance in keeping those public’s-needs repeat-scrolling across a few ‘verbatim’ e-sites or even www-sites until they have been “recognised” positively by Parliament et al;
and let the publicised Recognition-Scroll be accompanied by some impartial form of “prioritisation”.
——-
Meanwhile alas!
but please-God-be-merciful unto our dear
Lord Norton
who appears to me “buried” within more than one, almost ad-nauseam, constitutional, legislative, and educational “scrum-down” !
Dear Lord Norton,
I admire your good job and your devotion together with other blessed lords to reform the House of the Lords. I am sure that her Majesty pays tribute to your passion together with other lords, namely Lord Tyler, to bring positive reforms in the House of Lords. Hope one day some day, shall I be among the lords should legislations change allowing European citizens to be lords, we could together with other blessed lords add reforms to reforms. Hope her Majesty gives me her Blessings to be some day among you .Hope you could see to it that European citizens could join the House of the Lords.
God save the Queen and the beloved lords. God bless the United Kingdom.
Nazma FOURRE