Some readers have already begun to comment, in the thread to the preceding post, on the ministerial reshuffle as it affects the House of Lords. There will now be three peers in the Cabinet, two of them departmental ministers. The most senior is Lord Mandelson, who now heads a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which…
I was listening to Broadcasting House on Radio 4 on Sunday morning when they introduced a listener, an American novelist, who wanted to complain about the coverage in the UK of American politics. She took exception to references to ‘swing states’ on the grounds that Americans took the view that each vote counted as equal. …
The ministerial changes announced today have a major impact on the House of Lords. The Leader of the House, Baroness Ashton, leaves Government to become an EU Commissioner (in place of Peter Mandelson). Her place is taken by the Chief Whip, Baroness Royall. A new Chief Whip has yet to be announced. Peter Mandelson will…
Earlier this year, I was asked to do a post on the role of ministers in the Lords. Normally the number of ministers sitting in the Lords is just over twenty, representing approximately twenty per cent of ministers. They usually include two Cabinet members (the Leader of the House and now the Chief Whip –…
