A week last Friday, I spoke at two schools, the John Cleveland College in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and Queen Margaret’s School, York. I was initially invited to talk about constitutional change but each opted for a more specific talk on the role of the Lords. Last Friday, I also spoke on Lords reform at a sixth-form conference in…
Total Politics is a new monthly magazine; Iain Dale is the publisher. The November issue has an article, ‘Why we need the House of Lords’, by David Seymour, former political editor of the Mirror group. As he admits, he has moved from being a committed advocate of Lords reform to being a supporter of the present…
The New Local Government Network has just published a paper arguing the case for an elected second chamber based on an analysis of the principal homes of the current members of the House. It argues that London and the Home Counties are disproportionately ‘represented’ while some parts of the UK have relatively few peers living…
I thought I would take a leaf out of Iain Dale’s book (or rather blog) and announce when I am doing the occasional broadcast. I will be on Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster this week (Saturday 11.00 a.m.), debating the White Paper on Lords reform with Chris Bryant MP. The presenter is Peter Riddell.
For those interested in pursuing my point about an elected second chamber not necessarily being the ‘democratic’ option, you can access the text of the talk I gave last December at a seminar on Lords reform organised by the Leader of the House, Baroness Ashton, on: http://www.lordsleader.gov.uk/files/pdf/Dec_07_PN_Leaders_Seminar.pdf My starting point is the form of constitution I…
