Every six months chairs of foreign affairs committees from each national parliamentary chamber in the EU get together to discuss foreign affairs at a European level. It’s a small part of making the EU more accountable. The group is known as COFAC (Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees) and as chair of the Lords’ EU foreign…
The appointment of Peter Mandelson has rather overshadowed the appointment of Stephen Carter and Paul Myners, both appointed ministers and elevated to the Lords. The appointment of Paul Myners is noteworthy because of the position to which he has been appointed – Exchequer Secretary in the Treasury. Given the financial privilege of the Commons, and…
Peter Mandelson was introduced into the House on Monday and made his maiden speech today. He moved the Enterprise Act 2002 (Specification of Additional Section 58 Consideration) Order 2008, which may sound dull and technical but which was actually extremely important. It provides the opportunity for the minister to intervene in the TSB/HBOS merger talks…
When Peter Mandelson joins the Lords, he will be one of only two Cabinet ministers to have a former Cabinet minister as his opposite number. Lord Hunt of Wirral has just been appointed Shadow Minister for Business, Enterprise and Regulation. As David Hunt, Lord Hunt was a Cabinet minister from 1990 to 1995, serving as…
There are three noteworthy features of the appointment of Peter Mandelson, Stephen Carter and Paul Myners to ministerial rank and the elevation of all three to the peerage. First, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform means that the Lords acquires a…
