There was an important debate on the Planning Bill last Thursday. The Conservatives had put down an amendment that would have taken the final say away from the Infrastructure Planning Commission – a proposed new independent body that would deal with major infrastructure programmes. Instead the final say would be with the government and Parliament.…
In response to my earlier post on tackling political alienation, a couple of respondents suggested increasing the transparency of Westminster – ‘losing the ivory tower effects of the Westminster village’ (DW) – and informing the public more about the basic operations of Parliament (Troika21). Compared with many other parliaments, Westminster is a transparent institution. Votes…
Three years ago, I was in a hotel in Washington DC for a conference. I happened to walk into the meeting room at the same time as another delegate. We took an instant liking to each other and chatted about our hopes and dreams. He spoke about his ambition to be President of the United…
I spoke last night at a meeting organised by the Hansard Society to discuss how to tackle political alienation in this country. There have been suggestions that, given declining trust in Parliament, it is necessary to have radical change of both Parliament and the constitution. The view I expressed was that constitutional and structural change…
A former student has suggested I ask one of the questions about US Presidents that I ask each year in seminars. Conscious that this is a blog about the Lords – but equally conscious that readership increases when I ask questions about US Presidents! – I thought I would offer a link between a feature…
On Monday 3rd November, the House of Lords had a debate on the current economic situation. This was the first debate on this topic in the House and, consequently, it was well attended. Astonishingly, there has not been a similar debate to date in the House of Commons. There have been plenty of statements and…
Can’t blog today without mentioning US President Elect Barack Obama. Whether his politics are to one’s taste or not (and I’m not sure we know anything much except the generalities) his election last night is surely a fantastic indication of faith by the American people in justice, equality and a new order in domestic and…
Son of a President, grandson of a Senator My quiz question on the US Presidency attracted attention not only from readers in this country but also in the USA. One US blog raised the question of whether the dominance of the names of Nixon and Bush on presidential tickets meant that the US was acquiring…
The House yesterday debated the current economic situation. I mentioned in an earlier post some of the speakers who would be taking part. The debate can be found at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldhansrd/text/81103-0002.htm#0811039000009 The quality of the debate was commented on by the minister, Baroness Vadera, in her speech winding-up for the Government: “My Lords, it is rare…
