Tag: House of Lords
The Byles bill on Lords reform is important, but needs amending if it’s not to damage the Lords
Effective reform of the House of Lords has generally been achieved by steady, incremental steps, with attempts at ‘big bang’ changes usually failing. The latest attempt at modest reform, introduced via a Private Members Bill by the Conservative MP Dan Byles has many virtues, argues Meg Russell, but needs to be amended if it is not to […]
New analysis reveals what types of organisation give evidence to parliamentary select committees
Parliamentary select committees are one of the most important sources of external input into the policy-making process. Committees call witnesses to their hearings, whether to hold them to account or to make use of their expertise in a particular field. Democratic Audit has been conducting research into the composition of these witnesses: in this first […]
Select committees are becoming increasingly significant, but show an enormous gender bias in their choice of witnesses
Select committees are now firmly established as an important part of our democratic architecture, making a bigger impression than ever before since the implementation of the 2010 Wright Committee reforms. But Democratic Audit research shows a staggering gender gap in the witnesses that provide them with oral evidence. While this is reflective of a set […]
The size of the House of Lords is pushing 900 – and needs to come down
The House of Lords has grown from 666 members to 835 members over the last thirteen years, leaving it not only larger than the House of Commons, but the largest Upper Chamber in the world. Lord Norton argued in a recent speech to the House that this was a problem that needed to be looked at seriously, […]
Book Review: The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived
This book provides the first detailed portrait of the post-1999 House of Lords, explaining who sits in the chamber, how it operates, and crucially what policy impact it has. Meg Russell aims to show that its membership is more diverse and modern than many would assume, and its influence on policy to be substantial. Gordon Bannerman concludes that this […]
Democratic round-up: the House of Lords
The House of Lords has been in the news again. Here, Sean Kippin takes a look at some of the more interesting articles, blogs, and pieces of research from the last week on Parliament’s upper chamber. Last week, the Government announced their latest nominations for membership of the House of Lords, with the governing Conservative and Liberal […]
The unreformed House of Lords is already the largest parliamentary chamber of any democracy
The appointment of 30 new peers to our unreformed House of Lords was announced this week. In the 2012 audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick, and Stephen Crone discussed the composition and role of the upper chamber. They highlighted how the UK is almost unique among established democracies in possessing a parliamentary chamber that is mainly unelected, and set […]
Take a closer look at the House of Lords: it may not be quite what you think
The 1999 reforms to the House of Lords introduced by Labour in government have given the House of Lords a new-found sense of confidence and legitimacy, with the upper chamber now impossible to ignore for anybody seeking to under British politics. But while these changes mean that the chamber has increased its relevance and importance, […]
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