The House of Commons was sitting last week and again this week. It has been busy with the Second Readings of the Government’s two major constitutional measures (the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill and the Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill). The House of Lords is not sitting, but the fact that MPs are in session has…
Congratulations to Robin and Dave H, who are the winners of last week’s quiz. They each identified a total of seventeen former Cabinet ministers, no longer in the Commons, who are not members of the Lords. This week’s quiz relates to the background of members. Even when the Lords Temporal were all hereditary peers, not…
Over the past few decades, Parliament has become a much more open institution and has sought to enhance its links with citizens. There is already a substantial flow of correspondence between constituents and MPs – and the volume has grown substantially in recent years – but there have been problems at the institutional level. How…
For this week’s quiz, I thought I would pose a question that relates to some people who are not in the Lords. Former Prime Ministers are offered peerages and, even if they decline initially, can accept them at a later date (as with Harold Macmillan). It is usual, though not automatic, for former Cabinet ministers to…
I was sorry to hear the news of the deaths of two active members of the House. Lord McIntosh of Haringey, who has died age 77, was a very active Deputy Government Chief Whip – a frequent performer at the Despatch Box – before fulfilling his ambition of becoming a minister of state. He subsequently…
