The House of Lords has a strong commitment to outreach and engagement. This includes the ‘Peers in Schools’ programme as well as this blog, a unique collaboration of members drawn from different parts of the House. The House also publishes a range of literature to explain what it does and to provide data on its…
It is wonderful at my stage of life to still be doing new things – so here is my first ever blog. To start, let me introduce myself. Born in Yorkshire and brought up in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, I studied Veterinary Science at university. I have spent my career as a veterinary surgeon in practice, in…
Each year, a question is usually tabled to find out the annual total costs, and the cost per member, of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the European Parliament. At the end of last month, the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury gave the costs as follows: HOUSE OF COMMONS Annual cost: £392m…
In 1592 Lord Howard of Effingham commissioned a series of ten tapestries to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada (he was Lord High Admiral at the time). In 1616 he sold them to King James 1 for £1,628. By 1660 the tapestries had moved to the Royal Palace of Westminster, where they hung in…
On Tuesday, I took part in the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race. The annual contest, now in its sixteenth year, involves teams of MPs, Peers and members of the Press Gallery racing (and flipping) their way around Victoria Tower Gardens in aid of the disability charity, Rehab. Despite allegations of some unparliamentary behaviour, the MPs’ team managed…
