I promised, in response to a comment from Stuart in an earlier post (‘What’s in a name?’), to reproduce my coat of arms. So here it is. As explained in my response to Stuart’s query on the earlier post, the coat incorporates features to reflect my background (primarily Louth and Lincolnshire) and my particular academic interests…
With 30,568 visits in the first six weeks of this blog I hope to persuade a few more of my colleagues to participate. I have tabled a question for answer next Thursday asking how we can inform the public about the work of Parliament. This blog is part of the answer and it gives me and other blogging Lords…
I promised in response to a comment on an earlier post to discuss post-legislative scrutiny. When I chaired the Constitution Committee of the Lords, we undertook a major inquiry into the legislative process. We looked at the legislative process holistically, examining not only the process when a Bill is before Parliament but also pre-legislative and…
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Life Peerages Act 1958. There will be various events to mark the anniversary. Before 1958, the House was comprised primarily, though not exclusively, of hereditary peers. The exceptions were the Lords Spiritual and the law lords. The law lords were (under an Act of…
Matt asks how I would change the processes of scrutiny of a Bill in the Lords. First of course I would hope it arrived in better shape from the Commons but all the Bills I’ve watched go through the Commons get almost nothing except ‘tabloid’ type scrutiny of the overtly controversial clauses or those that…
Following on from Lord Norton, my favourite Ministerial response is “As the noble Lord will recognise” which can mean “I’m desperately trying to remember my briefing note on this point, give me a second to collect my thoughts” or ” Come off it you idiot, you’re definitely wrong” depending on context. There are some long-serving…
The House is now back from the Easter recess and busy debating. Peers have a reputation for being extremely polite to one another. Even insults are couched in language that sometimes means it is a few minutes before victims realise they have been criticised. Given that we sometimes hide what we really mean in decorous language,…
From Monday to Thursday, both Houses start business with Question Time. However, there are five ways in which Question Time in the Lords differs from that in the House of Commons. First, Question Time in the Lords lasts for no more than thirty minutes, compared with nearly one hour in the Commons. Second, only a…
Yesterday, the Speaker in each House announced the death of a member. In the Commons, it was the redoubtable Gwyneth Dunwoody. In the Lords, it was Lord Beaumont of Whitley (pictured). Both were notable for being willing to speak their minds. Lord Beaumont’s death robs Parliament of its only Green member. Tim Beaumont was a notable…
