A former MP who I know, and who served in the Commons for more than thirty years, has just written to me. He saw my letter in The Times last week and was writing to support what I said. He also used the opportunity for some recollections. He recalled that when he became an MP almost fifty…
The BBC has picked up on a written answer from Baroness Royall on the cost of Parliament, showing that the cost of the Lords this past year was down on the previous year. As the figures also show, the cost of running the Lords is almost a quarter of the cost of running the Commons. We tend…
There are three questions this week. As with last week’s quiz, the first two readers to reply with the correct answers will be the winners. Question 1 In the House of Lords, a Bishop is addressed as “the right reverend prelate”. But how is an Archbishop addressed? Question 2 How many former Commissioners of the…
There are various members of the Lords who saw service during the Second World War. In an early post, I mentioned that Lord Campbell of Alloway was a prisoner-of-war in Colditz. As some readers may know, Baroness Trumpington served in naval intelligence at code-breaking Bletchley Park. She is extremely interesting on the subject. A reader has sent…
One reader has suggested to me that, having written about some of the formidable Baronesses in the House, I write about some of their male equivalents. The male equivalent to Baroness Trumpington is probably the 13th Earl Ferrers. Readers will already be aware that his family name is Shirley and that he entered the House…
