Radio 4’s top headline this morning was ‘Calls are growing for reform of the House of Lords’. It’s not often that happens. Neither reformers nor reactionaries may relish the means of this meteoric rise to the top of the news agenda, but we have to face the simple fact that the public do not believe…
The discussions here about the presence of bishops in the Lords – and the parallel debate in the media about disestablishment of the Anglican Church, sparked by the Archbishop of Canterbury – have reminded me of a simple but largely ignored fact: the bishops were NOT originally included in the great councils of the nation…
Those of you who have been following the close contests in Strictly Come Dancing, and the epic fiasco of the semi-final, may have noticed that according to a number of newspapers I have ‘waded in’ to the controversy. I wrote a letter to the Director General of the BBC asking that the number of votes…
Wherever I go (on behalf of the Lord Speaker) to talk about the House of Lords I get asked how often I am here and what I do when I am. Fair question, but difficult to answer. Our work pattern varies so much – from week to week – that it is impossible to generalise. …
The long–suffering Doorkeepers who look after us so well, and manage so much of the activity in the Lords, have the invidious task of making sure that anyone who walks through the Prince’s Chamber (the lobby to the Chamber itself) is properly dressed. I know, because I tabled a question to the Chairman of Committees…
