12.30 pm: In the bleak Committee Room W3, adjoining the late medieval splendour of Westminster Hall. Listened to the British Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova at an All Party Group. Asked him about the million or so Moldovans who are obliged to seek work outside their country. 1.00 pm: At a larger public meeting…
These are my twelve suggestions for reforms to improve our democracy, and to increase the efficiency of government: The House of Commons should elect the Prime Minister for the duration of the coming Parliament. This should be fixed at either four or five years. The Prime Minister should choose his cabinet, drawing Ministers from both…
Lady D’Souza has ventured into the dangerous waters of the SSRB report on peers’ remuneration so I’ll do so too. I note the expected unsympathetic comments and expect nothing less to my blog too but think it’s right at least to tell you what people are saying in the tea room where the talk among…
We plough throug about 6 inches of secondary legislation a week, none thicker than the Air Navigation Order 2009, at about 400 pages. Clause 166 at the top of page 81 reads: A person must not cause or permit any animal (whether or not attached to a parachute) to be dropped from a small unmanned…
When you were at school, now is the time that lessons begin to get less serious and holiday events more numerous. Not so here in the House of Lords, we are still in very serious mode (even mood!). Today we had the Second Reading of the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) bill, a rare bit of good news; the…
On Thursday afternoon, 3rd December, there was a debate on the future of the BBC, led by Lord Fowler, chairman of the Lords’ Communication Committee. The House is often quite critical of the BBC in debate, especially around the time of Charter renewal which, in the past, has taken place every ten years. On this…
The Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, was at the University of Hull yesterday (Friday) addressing a politics sixth-form conference. One of the points she made about the House of Lords was the diversity of its membership. This encompassed the experience and expertise of peers. The House includes people drawn from different sectors, such as literature, the arts and…
Yesterday’s Second Reading debate on the Digital Economy Bill produced some good speeches: the most telling critiques of the Bill were provided by Lord Lucas on the Conservative benches and Lord Whitty on the Labour benches. The debate is well worth reading. The first speaker on the Conservative side was former Cabinet minister, Lord Fowler,…
Each session, some of the Bills promised in the Government’s programme begin their passage in the Lords. Among those being introduced in the House this session is the Digital Economy Bill. It had its Second Reading today. The Bill itself is not massive in size – 49 clauses and three schedules – but it nonetheless…
