I am not going to comment on the allegations against the four Members named in the press as they have yet to state their defence but already immense damage has been done to the reputation of the House. So while we wait for further reform of the Lords (which in my view ought to be incremental)…
Lord Tyler makes some interesting points but none that undermines the points advanced against electing the second chamber – though he does at least avoid some of the cliches advanced by proponents of election. There are two particular points I would make. First, the House is variously characterised as a House of experience and expertise. …
The way we are paid expenses in the Lords is sleazy, embarrassing and I hate it. A lot of crossbench colleagues feel the same way and I daresay others do too. There are a number of peers who are sufficiently rich (or are paid as Ministers) they don’t feel the need to draw expenses but the vast…
Bismarck said, according to Susanna Kalitowski from the Hansard Society, that “Laws are like sausages; it’s better not to see them being made”. Kalitowski, whose report will be launched tomorrow afternoon and ‘previewed’ in the House Magazine yesterday, has studied the role of parliamentary scrutiny of legislation, interviewing over 80 interviews with Ministers, MPs, peers,…
The Government White Paper on Lords reform is expected to be published tomorrow (Monday). I and others will have the opportunity to comment further once it is published, but here are a few questions to bear in mind when you see the details: To what extent does the White Paper actually provide an intellectually coherent case for change as opposed…
