Sticking with Lord Norton and Lord Tyler’s theme of Select Commons committees and their powers. Before I came into parliament I was summoned twice to appear before the Commons Health Ombudsman’s Committee. It was an experience I shall never forget. Both occasions followed investigations by the Ombudsman of serious failures of administration by the NHS.…
Saturday we celebrated with an old friend who thinks he has been appointed to the Supreme Court. I say “thinks” because although the appointment is all over the internet, there has been no official announcement. The appointment has been brewing for about 5 months, and still no formal announcement. Apparently it cannot be announced until…
I thought this week I would pose a different type of question. The House of Lords has become more specialised in recent years, making greater use of committees and moving away from reliance on the chamber. Committee work for many peers is both more time-cosuming and rewarding than being in the chamber. The work of the committees ensures that…
The House of Lords is settling the new membership of its Select Committees, all of which fell into abeyance with the general election. There are 16 of them, and the European Union one has 7 subcommittees. I am pleased to have been appointed a member of the House of Lords Communications Committee, the remit of…
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…
