Among the best speeches in yesterday’s debate on Lords reform were those made by Lord Cope of Berkeley on the Conservative benches, Lord Walton of Detchant on the cross-benches and Lord Rooker on the Labour benches. Lord Rooker drew on his experience in both Houses, including as a minister. One of his most telling observations was: “After…
As mentioned in an earlier post, I was successful in the ballot for a Thursday debate and my motion – to call attention to the case for enhancing the means available to the House of Lords to scrutinise legislation and public policy – occupied the the first of today’s two debates. The debate was notable for the…
Earlier this year, I was asked to do a post on the role of ministers in the Lords. Normally the number of ministers sitting in the Lords is just over twenty, representing approximately twenty per cent of ministers. They usually include two Cabinet members (the Leader of the House and now the Chief Whip –…
