According to the admirable TheyWorkforYou.com, I am a peer who ‘quite often rebels’ against my party. This is based on the fact that, according to the equally admirable Public Whip, I have voted against my own side in 41 out of 734 divisions. The description is about right, though not necessarily because of the votes…
The other evening the presenter of a Radio 4 programme, reviewing the year, stated that 2010 was the start of a new decade. The same programme claimed that Michael Martin was the first Speaker in three-hundred years to be forced out of office. Wrong on the second count (as regular readers will be well aware) and,…
Merry Christmas to all our readers. I had planned to do some posts earlier in the week, but at rather short notice I had to prepare the index for one of my forthcoming books. I fear the excitement of it all rather engrossed me. Anyway, watch this space for posts on peers’ expenses and the…
Some of the procedures of the House are longstanding. Others are recent. Changes are regularly made, as for example with the provision for a dedicated question time for Secretaries of State who sit in the House. Our guide is the Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords,…
The House yesterday agreed a report from the Procedure Committee recommending that, if there is a Secretary of State in the House, then on one Thursday every month, when the House is sitting, 15 minutes should be set aside for three oral questions to the Secretary of State immediately following the existing 30 minutes for…
