The past week has been pretty hectic. The Lords has been busy getting on with the detailed scrutiny of legislation. However, peers have also been keenly interested in what has been going on in the Commons. Many have followed the proceedings on screen. Now that offices have TV screens, it is possible to get on…
This Tuesday from 10am to 8pm there will be the welcome opportunity to elect a member of the House of the Lords. Naturally it is completely bizarre that only candidates who would have been eligible to be hereditary peers may stand, but that was the nature of the compromise needed to remove hereditaries from the…
Last time I contributed to this blog I said I would bet money there would be a deal which enabled the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill to complete its passage in time for the referendum to take place on 5 May, and that the recent goings-on in the House would not cause the sky…
This is an article I wrote for another blogsite (labourlist) but thought it may also be of interest here: After around two dozen days of debate and scrutiny, the AV Bill, or Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill to give it its proper title, finally became law late last night. So where does it leave us? And…
Today is the day for Parliamentary ping pong on the Parliamentary Voting System & Constituencies Bill. The first issue up was whether or not the referendum result on AV should be binding in all circumstances. Lord Rooker proposed that if the turnout is less than 40% then the result is advisory and Parliament makes the…
