Tag Archives: House of Commons

A good year for Parliament?

Lord Norton 02/08/2011 – 6:20 pm

Mark D’Arcy of BBC Parliament blogs that he thinks that it has been a good year for Parliament.   One can see his argument.  The chairs and members of select committees in the Commons are now elected, the committees have continued to be productive, and two have recently gained a high public profile because of the ‘phone-hacking scandal.  New MPs have also begun to make a mark and are […]

Written at 6:20 pm on 02/08/2011, by Lord Norton

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Lords and Commons out of sync

Lord Knight 18/07/2011 – 10:56 am

This week sees the beginning of the long summer recess for both the Lords and Commons, but with the Lords working an extra day. This ought not be remarkable as long as events are proceeding in a normal way. But they are not. The Commons finish on Tuesday. For a small group of backbenchers who serve on the Culture Media and Sport select committee they finish with a flourish when their proceedin […]

Written at 10:56 am on 18/07/2011, by Lord Knight


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Departmental Select Committees in the Commons

Baroness Murphy 17/07/2011 – 9:06 am

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. The Ombudsman, or maybe the Committee, chos […]

Written at 9:06 am on 17/07/2011, by Baroness Murphy

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Not sitting, but busy

Lord Norton 15/09/2010 – 6:47 pm

The House of Commons was sitting last week and again this week.  It has been busy with the Second Readings of the Government's two major constitutional measures (the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill and the Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill).  The House of Lords is not sitting, but the fact that MPs are in session has consequences for many peers.  There is a great deal of parliamen […]

Written at 6:47 pm on 15/09/2010, by Lord Norton


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Parliament and the public

Lord Norton 10/09/2010 – 5:55 pm

Over the past few decades, Parliament has become a much more open institution and has sought to enhance its links with citizens.  There is already a substantial flow of correspondence between constituents and MPs - and the volume has grown substantially in recent years - but there have been problems at the institutional level.  How does each House facilitate and encourage input from members of t […]

Written at 5:55 pm on 10/09/2010, by Lord Norton


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