Some readers have already begun to comment, in the thread to the preceding post, on the ministerial reshuffle as it affects the House of Lords. There will now be three peers in the Cabinet, two of them departmental ministers. The most senior is Lord Mandelson, who now heads a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which…
The House this evening agreed to suspend two peers, Lords Truscott and Taylor of Blackburn. After a very good debate, the House agreed, without a vote, to accept the first report of the Privileges Committee (thus agreeing that we had the power to suspend members) as well as the second (with its findings in respect of…
The Committee for Privileges has published its reports. It has concluded that the House does have the power to suspend members for a period not longer than the remainder of a Parliament and in a separate report recommends that Lords Truscott and Taylor of Blackburn be suspended until the end of the current session of Parliament. …
Clearly, the issue of expenses is one that is attracting widespread media attention and is having some remarkable resonance with the public. This is not one of those issues that is confined to the Westminster world. The focus is primarily on the Commons in respect of expenses, though not exclusively so. There is clearly a case…
Two relatively straightforward, and easy, questions this week. How many members of the House of Lords are former Foreign Secretaries? Who are they? How many members of the House of Lords are former Chancellors of the Exchequer? Who are they?
