In an editorial this morning, The Guardian has noted that some peers revert to the old practice of selecting territorial titles, Ian Paisley for example having entered the House as Lord Bannside and John Gummer having entered as Lord Deben. (Interestingly, John Gummer’s brother, Peter Gummer, sits as Lord Chadlington. We thus have two Gummers…
I thought I would set a somewhat different quiz question this week, perhaps providing an opportunity to win for readers who regularly watch debates in the Lords on the Parliament channel. As readers of The Norton View will be aware, I have just been archiving a large number of photographs. I reproduce here one taken…
Over the past two years, the problems of parliamentary expenses have tended to be dominated by stories affecting the House of Commons. The Daily Telegraph was at the forefront of revealing claims made by MPs. However, The Sunday Times identified problems with peers’ expenses and this acted as a wake-up call to the House. Since…
The recommendation that the posts of Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales be merged has variously been made, including by the Constitution Committee of the House of Lords in its 2003 report on Devolution: Inter-Institutional Relations in the United Kingdom. Apparently, it almost came about in the botched Cabinet changes of 2003. It is a…
This week’s quiz covers peers who have served as public officials in one capacity or another. I have previously asked how many peers have served as Head of the Diplomatic Service. We also have several who have served as Secretary to the Cabinet. However, several peers have served as public servants in other positions. 1. I served…
