The debate took place on the select committee’s report dealing with intergovernmental organisations and contagious diseases. When a select committee produces a report the government has to publish its response and this has been available since late last year. Many of the committee’s recommendations have been accepted which is very gratifying but this is a…
Further to Lord Norton’s post below the question was asked by Lord Dubs who compared our position unfavourably with that of prisoners who may soon get the vote. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/90223-0001.htm#0902234000436 When Ientered the Lords in 2005 a long serving colleague came up to me and said “I hope you realise that you are now one of that small…
Peers can vote in local and European Parliament elections, but cannot vote in elections to the House of Commons. Some members of the House object to this and believe they should be entitled to vote. The issue came up again at Question Time yesterday. The minister, Lord Bach, was asked what the rationale was for…
At the beginning of each year, I table a Question asking how many items of mail were received in the Palace of Westminster in the previous year and what proportion is received in the House of Lords. I have just had the answer to my Question for 2008. Last year, 4,135,144 items of post were…
The death of Lord Dearing at the end of last week meant that the House lost a very active member. A former chairman of the Post Office, Lord Dearing was also a towering name in the field of education. The Dearing Report is regarded as a seminal influence. Whenever a Government wanted some problem solving…
I am beginning to worry that I’ve gone native. After three and a half years in the Lords, I am tempted to be even more pompous and semantic than I was before. Yesterday evening’s debates on the Marine and Coastal Access Bill took a curious turn when I asked the Minister leading to explain a…
I thought I would pose a couple of gentle quiz questions. If they prove relatively easy, I may post another over the course of the weekend. Peer 1 I have been in and out. I have moved about the House. I have been a senior adviser to a global financial institution. I have chaired a major Lords…
On Tuesday the House will debate the report of the Select Committee on Intergovernmental Organisations dealing with controlling the spread of infectious diseases. (House of Lords paper 143-1 Session 2007-8). As I was the chairman I will initiate the debate and then it is open to all members to participate including members of the ccommittee.…
In response to my previous post, a number of readers asked about the role of the law lords. Croft raised the question as to whether other peers could participate in judicial business. The judicial work of the House is conducted by an Appellate Committee, comprising Lords of Appeal: these comprise the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (the…
