One change in the ceremony for the Queen’s Speech yesterday was the arrival of the Justices of the Supreme Court in their new robes. They occupied the two rows in the middle of the chamber right at the front – ahead of peers but behind the senior judges who attend each year. The High Court…
For this week’s quiz, I thought I would focus on women in the House. Various attempts were made to enable women to sit in the Lords prior to the 1958 Life Peerages Act. The passage of the Sex Discrimination (Removal) Act 1919 was taken by some as suggesting that women may be eligible for admission…
Parliament was prorogued at 4.30 p.m. today. It was a quiet end end to a tumultuous session. There was no last minute ‘ping pong’ between the chambers. The absence of such ‘ping pong’ reflected the influence rather than the weakness of the Lords. On recent measures – some of the big Bills going through the…
In commenting on the responses to my post on prostitution and the Policing and Crime Bill, McDuff has written: “This comment thread is, in fact, bloody excellent. How such a thing can happen on the internet is beyond me.” I rather share his positive evaluation. The post has attracted some insightful comments, including from people who…
Earlier this year, the Constitution Committee published a report on emergency, or fast track, legislation. Very little study has been undertaken of such legislation, even though there is a general recognition that legislating in haste may not necessarily produce good legislation. The report made various recommendations for change, not least that there should be a…
