I was at a symposium this morning on the Parliament Act 1911. I spoke on the historical background to the Act. One of the points that I made, repeating what I said in my History of Parliament lecture, is that there was very little public interest in the issue of the second chamber as such during…
Amidst the essay and exam marking over the past few weeks, I was also busy working on a lecture on Enoch Powell, one of the most controversial politicians of the latter half of the 20th Century as well as a distinguished parliamentarian. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has organised a series of lectures…
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg last week appeared before the Constitution Committee as part of its inquiry into the process of constitutional change. You can watch the session here or read the transcript here. He was asked about the Government’s proposals for the future of the House of Lords. I pursued him on the implications for…
