Celebrations for this are happening between November 13 and 17, with events in the historic Westminster Hall and the modern Parliamentary building called Portcullis House. 1300 schools and over 2600 other organizations are taking part, to make the work of Parliament better known and understood.
Against this background, I thought it might be of interest to give a snapshot of my activities this year. I am an 85-year old back-bench member of the House of Lords, sitting as an independent Cross-bencher. I have taken part in the House since 1971.
This year, I find that I have spoken in the House on 31 occasions, with interventions ranging from a one-line Question to a 10-minute speech, including at least two Oral Questions. I have tabled 235 Questions for Written Answer, besides writing many letters to Ministers, usually in the Foreign Office or Home Office, on subjects such as Middle-Eastern wars and peace, refugees and migrants, terrorism, social justice in Britain or the 2018 Commonwealth Summit meeting. I visited Guys Marsh Prison in Dorset, as well as Malta and Rome, all on Parliamentary business. Later this month I will go, with colleagues, to Syria to meet religious leaders and to discuss the return of refugees and essential reconstruction after the civil war.
In order to keep informed I belong to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and many All-Party Groups focussing on individual countries.
And the ongoing cumulative result of all that attention to duty, detail and work –
along with all the like-extensive and intensive efforts of a million other advocates and leaders
is that we are all still being “enslaved”, repressed, exploited, manipulated
and both individual and-neighbourhood human-development and holistic-health-building neglected –
by the same overarching-oligarchic-failed-establishmentarian-‘elite’,
although 2minisculely-tiny” in pairs of legs, hands and eyes,
are nonetheless overpaid, overempowered, and increasingly unfit-for-Life-purpose
as their domineering little ‘ilk’ has been for prevalently and domineeringly since colonially 500 years and even since militantly-aggressively 5000 years ago –
[see “exposes” by Naomi Klein, Prof Hicke (LSE “Ther Divide”)l, David Attenborough (“How Many People Can Live On Planet Earth), and a veritable host of other real-life-on-Earth sustain-worthying-ers and humankind-leaders;
as are still being shown to the world public via Basics and New-Foundations in not-for-profit, power nor prestige “Earth-Citizens” e-sites http://www.one-human-living.com; http://www.lifefresh.co.uk;
this one http://lifefresh.net –
and of course still being shown to a wider world audience by many mentions via http://lordsoftheblog.net –
the only other worldwide e- site I (JSDM) know of that does publish the existence and “acceptability” of such “life-itself-before-technology” publications
(even if being unable to pro-actively and effectively pursue them through the Lords themselves)]
I like to get my inspiration from really meaningful phrases said by truly great people like “Good and evil, reward and punishment, are the only motives to a rational creature”, do you know where I can find thematic compiltaions of those?
http://creatingasafeplace.com/find-out-how-to-obtain-high-quality-write-up/
There is a view that all Regents that have followed on after Imperial Rome have been under a duty of care to ensure that the needs of the tribunus plebis are met.
By 1999 there were 1330 peers in total. The House of Lords Act 1999 reduced the size of the house to 669 which included 92 hereditary peers with another 10 becoming life peers. The apparent loss of elective legitimacy would officially change the role of the house to that of a reforming chamber providing assistance with the legislative process and to inform by debate issues raised by members.
Why the changes took place is well documented but it was essentially a change by Parliament for Parliament to speed up legislation.
The creation of the Life Peerages Act 1958 promoted the Office of Regent to that of Emperor allowing the Royal Prerogative to be used to appoint and ennoble mostly those of plebeian birth to the peerage satisfying a duty of care to provide a legitimate tribunus plebis in the upper chamber. Sir Ian Fraser would be the first life peer to receive his letters patent. Ten men and four women would immediately follow.
The presence of elected tribunes in the lower house and appointed lord tribunes in the upper house creates two legitimate chambers charged with representing the plebis. The presence of elected hereditary peers represents a continuity to represent all and sundry.
Ref: Tribunus plebis; the Peoples Tribunes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_of_the_Plebs
British “democracy” is a sick-laughable-deliberate-disablement
simply because the vast majority of the “sovereign-governance” of this Nation_state, namely The People,
want “no involvement with nor part in Politics”;
and also because those whose professional and constitutional duty it is to represent the real Needs of every one of The People
(not just the “fantasy-lifestyle” or “luxury-hankerings” of “lobbyists” and “utilitarian majorities”)
namely our Members of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and of the Civil Service
are also divided and “mutually-nullifying” under the protocol-rule that
“the Matter is not in my Remit” –
“is above my Pay-Grade” or “is below my Pay-Grade”
or “not within my Jurisdiction”.
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A genuine cooperative-participative democracy would be “voting” not for “advocates to represent our Needs”
but directly for Lists of Needs in writing,
and possibly also for
“How each such need may best and most sustainworthily or affordably be met
collated by the Civil Service.
Finally (and with All the Seasons Greetings -always) –
Sovereign Participatory-Democracy [perhaps including initial world-wide Democratisation]
can only work by
(i) giving both Parliament Houses a “new Earth-Citizenship Preparatory” indefinite “sabbatical” “leave to equalisticly-participate Method III-wise
(ii) Possibly help the People’s Egalitarianly Inclusive Neighbourhoods
and the Civil Service Bodies
to be
(iii) Cooperatively sharing, discussing, scrutinising, and initially prioritising
“All of the Facts, Factors and Situations” pertinent to
“Each and All of our Needs and of the Hows for meeting these Needs”
and drawing up Lists and Clarifications thereof
– for “upwards sequential plenums collection/collation by an appointed “New Sustainworthying Civil Service Team
&
Appropriately-Competent or Suitable Volunteer Body from The People” ” (expenses-only-paid).
(iv) A further minimally ‘staffed’ Body should prepare such Lists and Clarifications
for firstly the “eyes and comments/scrutinisations” of the Appropriate People
and/or Online for the General World Public’s “eyes only”.
(v) … [ultimately leading on to a
[1] ‘slight’ change in the Democratic Voting System by voting for Lists of Needs-&-Hows
instead of for ” professionally-strange and self-interestedly ‘profiteering’
constituency-members-of-politically-exclusive-Parties
and then of similarly exclusive Parliaments;
[2] ‘seriously-bigger change’
(vi) this making the need and huge cost of so many seated Commons and Lords members as at present
“obsolete” [after a certain period of “obsolescence-ing”}
(vii) ‘even ‘greater-serious change’ – during which “obsolescence” period
further Lists of “Fit-for-Purpose professional and Life-Experienced Final Evaluators and Legilslative Peoples’ Advocates’
would be prepared
and possibly appropriately added to a Public-Voting system
(viii) here again a significant, but neither ‘slight’ nor ‘revolutionarily-serious’ change might be attempted too:-
namely that where two or more “expert-evaluators” are available for one seat in the (new “Evaluatory Parliament or Governance) House”-
or there is some other need requiring a “People-Participatory Vote”
such “Vote-Part” may be added to the “Lists of Needs & Hows” General Polling Day.
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In this same ‘new’ spirit of Participatory-Democratisation, the above may also be seen via http://lifefresh.net
============ Peace ===========