Former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke has been appointed Shadow Business Secretary. He will be the opposite number to Lord Mandelson. However, he will not be facing Lord Mandelson as they sit in different chambers. Lord Mandelson answers directly to peers and can be called to appear by committees in the Commons. Conversely, ministers in the Commons…
The House of Lords gets relatively little media attention. That applies not only to the chamber but also to committees. The House used to be a chamber-oriented institution, making little use of investigative committees. That has changed in recent years and the House has become a much more specialised body. It has created more select…
I am on an interview panel (for Thouron scholarships) throughout today and tomorrow, so I thought I would post this weekend’s quiz questions this morning. The questions are on women peers. 1. Who is the youngest female peer sitting on the Conservative benches? 2. Who is the youngest female peer sitting on the Labour benches? 3.…
The first debate in the House today was a three-hour debate, introduced by former Education Secretary, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, on the functioning of Children’s Services Departments. I took part in the debate. It is not one of my principal areas of interest, but I was interested in one particular aspect. Under the Government’s proposals…
Both Houses of Parliament are, by international standards, exceptionally large; indeed, we have the largest Parliament in the democratic world. David Cameron, in an interview with The Financial Times, has suggested that the number of seats in the House of Commons be reduced by sixty. When I chaired the Commission to Strengthen Parliament, established by…
