On Monday, I chaired a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Constitution. The speakers were Professor Dawn Oliver, of University College London, and Jack Simson Caird, of Queen Mary College, addressing their report, published by the Constitution Unit, on The Constitutional Standards of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution. (You…
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 excluded peers who were members of the Supreme Court from membership of the House for the period they held judicial office. It also excluded peers who held other high judicial office. Upon retirement, they resume their membership. This quiz covers peers who have held judicial office. As usual, the first…
I was very sad to hear of the death of Doreen Miller – Baroness Miller of Hendon – who died suddenly last Saturday, only days after her 81st birthday. Many parliamentarians have paid tribute to her work. She was a great champion of ensuring more women served in Parliament and faced some gruelling constituency selection processes. …
On Thursday, the House debated a report from the Labour Peers Working Group on Reform of the House of Lords. You can read the debate here. The quiz covers various reforms of the House. The first reader to supply the correct answer will win one of my recent publications. Jonathan, the winner of the last…
Today’s State Opening of Parliament followed its usual pattern, not least in terms of who was in the chamber. Not only do members of the two Houses assemble, but we are joined by members of the Diplomat Corps, who sit by seniority (the senior ones to the front of the box, and the very junior…
