The Govermment’s White Paper and House of Lords Reform Draft Bill got a poor reception in both Houses. The media have been underwhelmed by the Government’s proposals and decided that they did not really merit being treated as headline news. This is hardly surprising given that the White Paper really added little to what had…
The House of Lords has among its membership several distinguished surgeons as well as a good number of eminent lawyers. This week’s quiz focuses on peers who are drawn from medicine and the law. As usual, the first two readers to supply the correct answers will be the winners. 1. I combined being a surgeon…
The latest issue of The House Magazine comments on the fact that Prince William has been made Duke of Cambridge. It notes that it is the first time for centuries that a peerage has been created without carrying an automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. I enjoyed the final sentence of the…
As Lord Knight has reported – and indeed as have several newspapers today – the Government suffered a significant defeat last night on the Police and Social Responsibility Bill. This was the second defeat in two days. The previous day, it lost an important amendment on the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill. These bring to 16 the…
The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee in the Commons recently held a seminar to discuss reform of the Lords. It published its report, Seminar on the House of Lords: Outcomes, on Tuesday. It makes the case for incremental change, noting that Government should not wait for radical reform before making such change. In looking at…
