Tag Archives: House of Lords reform

Lords Reform – a mugs game

Lord Soley 21/04/2012 – 8:56 pm

As a newly elected MP in 1979 it seemed obvious to me that we needed to elect the Lords. No question about it! Unelected legislators in the age of democracy – it must be wrong! So like most MPs I took it for granted that Labour’s election manifesto of 1910 must finally be honoured. I now have a memorial mug given to me by Margaret Becket MP with the quotation from that election saying: T […]

Written at 8:56 pm on 21/04/2012, by Lord Soley

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Arrivederci

Baroness Murphy 28/03/2012 – 4:35 pm

I’m taking a ‘sabbatical’ from the Lords for a little while, so this is my arrivederci blog. There’s no such thing as a sabbatical from the House of Lords of course but there doesn’t seem to be any other type of official leave that quite suits my circumstances. Leave of Absence seems reserved for the sick or dying or those translated to grand office abroad like Lady Amos (UN Under-Secret […]

Written at 4:35 pm on 28/03/2012, by Baroness Murphy

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Stirring up apathy….

Lord Norton 22/11/2011 – 5:10 pm

I was at a symposium this morning on the Parliament Act 1911.  I spoke on the historical background to the Act.  One of the points that I made, repeating what I said in my History of Parliament lecture, is that there was very little public interest in the issue of the second chamber as such during the period from 1909 to 1911.  What happened to the House of Lords in terms of the Parliament Bil […]

Written at 5:10 pm on 22/11/2011, by Lord Norton

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The question of reform

Lord Norton 26/06/2011 – 8:23 pm

I had planned to do a post on last week's two-day debate on the Government's White Paper and draft Bill on the future of the House of Lords, but decided that as others had already covered it, your interest may already have been satisfied.  I did speak in the debate - I had the good fortune to be the first speaker on the second day - and anyone wanting to read what I said can do so here. Tomorr […]

Written at 8:23 pm on 26/06/2011, by Lord Norton

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A fox in the House of Lords

Lord Rennard 24/06/2011 – 12:43 pm

My first posting on “Lords of the blog” comes a day after an uninvited visitor was sighted in the red carpeted corridors of the Lords.  A fox “broke in” to the House somewhere near the Speaker’s apartments and pest control had to be called in.  This happens occasionally.  I think that a fox was once filmed in the chamber.  The pest control people are more used to dealing with the f […]

Written at 12:43 pm on 24/06/2011, by Lord Rennard

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