MEPs to have Lords passes only

Lord Norton — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:57:10 +0000

UK Members of the European Parliament were previously entitled to have parliamentary passes so that they could meet with parliamentarians and not have to keep queuing in order to get into the Palace of Westminster. Last year, the Commons decided that this privilege should be withdrawn. As parliamentary passes cover the parliamentary estate, the House Committee in the Lords recommended that we agree to the withdrawal. However, when it came before the House in November, it was clear that there was opposition to this recommendation and the matter was referred back to the committee. The committee reconsidered and the Lord Speaker wrote to the then chair of the Administration Committee in the Commons inviting it to reconsider its decision. It decided not to do so, with the result that special passes will now be created for MEPs so that they can access the House of Lords areas of the parliamentary estate only. As the Chairman of Committees reported in a written statement, “This work is already under way and the new style of pass will soon be issued to UK MEPs who have requested one.” It creates a situation that, as far as I am aware, is without precedent. Though some passes limit access to certain parts of the estate, it is the first time access is restricted to one House.

UPDATE: The story is also covered by the BBC.

Mental health and Parliament

Lord Norton — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:11:32 +0000

According to The Sunday Times, the Government is planning to change the law so that people who have had certain mental health problems and are presently barred from being elected to Parliament can stand for election. People who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act are barred from standing even if they have made a full recovery.

The Government’s proposals strike me as eminently sensible. A recent survey of parliamentarians found that a substantial minority had suffered mental health problems. Problems of mental health should not necessarily be a bar to being a candidate anymore than problems of physical health. There is not only the issue of being fair to the people concerned but also what to me constitutes an important principle of our electoral system: freedom of choice for electors. Electors should be free to choose whoever they wish to represent them. I am all for removing limits on who can stand for election: it is for electors to decide and not for Parliament to limit their choices.

It was for this reason that I was against the ban on dual membership of the European Parliament and national parliaments. If electors wish to choose as their MEP someone who is also a member of a national parliament, then that is a matter for them. It may be that it is too demanding on the person elected, but that is a matter for them and those who elected them. The Government has taken steps to enable peers to continue as MEPs (since as the law stands they cannot cease to members of the upper house), though the way they have gone about is subject to criticism.

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MEPs to have Lords passes only

Mental health and Parliament