The Commons will elect a new Speaker on 22 June. The circumstances of the departure of the current Speaker are unprecedented in recent history. The method of selecting his successor will also create history: for the first time, MPs will vote by secret ballot. The choice of the Speaker is a matter for the Commons. …
As a former Shadow Leader of the Commons, I naturally take a close interest in what is happening at the other end of the building. Many people will have been dismayed to learn that MPs would not have been able to debate and vote on a motion of confidence in the Speaker without Government co-operation. …
Mary Seacole ( http://www.maryseacoleappeal.org.uk/), the Crimean war nurse, was buried in my old constituency of Hammersmith (Kensal Green cemetary). I set up this charity to give recognition of Mary and the role of ethnic minorities in British history. It will be the first memorial to a black woman in Britain. The artist selection event was held last…
Do older people offer essential experience? Should they be forced to retire to make way for younger workers? In this time of economic meltdown, these are valuable questions that need careful consideration. Raising the retirement age further has not been the focus of the lively debates on future budget cuts. But last week, the National…
Lord Norton’s got an interesting thread going, Lord Soley’s said his bit again and I’ll remind everyone that I gave my view about our Lords allowances system in my blog on 20 July 2008. If we are to avoid the House of Lords being occupied solely by the independently wealthy or those on generous pensions there has…
I don’t approve of very long posts on blogs but the present scandal over expenses is so serious that I thought I should re-publish a paper I wrote some 18 months ago. It was similar to the evidence I gave to Sir John Baker last year and more recently Sir Christopher Kelly. I considered re-writing it to…
A couple of weekend quiz questions. 1. How many members of the House of Lords have held the position of Chief of the Defence Staff? Who are they? 2. Sir Anthony Clarke, the Master of the Rolls, will be introduced into the House of Lords next week. Why will he make history later this year?
We have just concluded the short debate I initiated on public consultations by Government Departments. It was a useful debate. The text can be read in Hansard tomorrow. My contribution to the debate was informed by earlier responses to my posts on consultation. In his contribution to the debate, Lord Maclennan called attention to this blog and,…
The Committee for Privileges has published its reports. It has concluded that the House does have the power to suspend members for a period not longer than the remainder of a Parliament and in a separate report recommends that Lords Truscott and Taylor of Blackburn be suspended until the end of the current session of Parliament. …
