House of Lords
‘If only people could see the real Margaret Thatcher’: Lords pay tribute
Today’s debates in Parliament about Baroness Thatcher were supposed to be a tribute to the first female Prime Minister. If you were looking for the most faithful rendition of this,… Continue reading
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‘Small-scale’ bloggers hear the chimes of freedom
Bloggers of the United Kingdom rejoice – an exemption from the all-new press controls looks to be on the way. We are waiting today to see if any of the… Continue reading
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Oona King’s return to the spotlight
The Lords’ terrace was transformed into a theatre yesterday evening to stage an adaptation of Blair Babe Oona King’s House Music diaries, which recount her career as MP for Bethnal Green… Continue reading
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Leveson Royal Charter plan remains uncharted territory
Strong words in the Lords today about the media and the government’s stance on Leveson, but what are the discussions like between the three parties behind the scenes? Though they… Continue reading
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Lessons from the Lords on Leveson
Peers are spending today debating the Leveson report. They’ve been at it for an hour and a half, and will continue debating until 5pm, but the first few speeches have… Continue reading
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Exclusive: John Nash is the new schools minister
The new schools minister is John Nash. He succeeds Lord Hill who has gone off to replace Tom Strathclyde as leader of the House of Lords. Nash, a venture capitalist,… Continue reading
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Lord Strathclyde resigns over frustration with Lib Dem peers
Lord Strathclyde was a skilful leader of the House of Lords. An immensely charming man, he was — generally — able to coax legislation through a chamber where the government… Continue reading
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Government could face another welfare rebellion in the Lords
Remember those rebellions in the Lords on welfare earlier this year? Well, the fight hasn’t disappeared entirely from the Upper Chamber. Secondary legislation filling in the detail of the Welfare… Continue reading
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Will the Lords really slay the gay marriage bill?
Think the Commons is in uproar at the moment over gay marriage? Just wait until the legislation makes its way into the House of Lords. The received wisdom is that… Continue reading
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Oxford students: Chris Patten needs to devote time to being our Chancellor
As students at Oxford University, we are told repeatedly by tutors, proctors, and the Chancellor himself that we’re not allowed to do much outside our degree. We cannot do more… Continue reading
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Cameron and Clegg locked in staring contest on boundary reforms
Nick Clegg and David Cameron still can’t agree over the future of the boundary review, and their continuing stalemate led to legislation on individual voter registration being shelved indefinitely in… Continue reading
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Government defeated on ‘poll tax mark two’
The government suffered an awkward defeat in the House of Lords this afternoon on its changes to council tax benefit. Rebels on an amendment to the Local Government Finance Bill… Continue reading
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Harman tries to play ball with Clegg on boundaries
Nick Clegg didn’t mention the boundary reforms once in the statement he gave to the House of Commons on the death of the House of Lords Reform Bill. The Deputy… Continue reading
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How the Lib Dems could be truly mature in government
Nick Clegg’s decision to scupper boundary reviews in retaliation for the failure of his Lords reform programme is the very opposite of ‘mature’ government. It is the politics of the… Continue reading
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Boundaries and Lords reform: what the two parties said
The Liberal Democrats have spent the past few months building up to yesterday’s announcement that they would trash the boundary reforms following the failure of the House of Lords Reform… Continue reading
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Cameron continues to stick to boundary reforms
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Nick Clegg’s decision not to support the 2015 boundary changes as a ‘penalty’ for Lords reform not happening is that Downing Street is insisting… Continue reading
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The Lib Dem penalty for a ‘breach of contract’ on the Lords
In his statement to the press this afternoon in which he confirmed that the Liberal Democrats were throwing the towel in over reform of the House of Lords, Nick Clegg… Continue reading
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Killing the boundaries but not the coalition
Nick Clegg will give a statement this afternoon on the House of Lords Reform Bill, and what will happen next. Number 10 was understandably cagey at this morning’s lobby briefing… Continue reading
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The fictional House of Lords
The House of Lords has yet again survived reform. ‘We have been discussing this issue for 100 years and it really is time to make progress,’ the Prime Minister said… Continue reading
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Pushing the boundaries
The conventional wisdom about the consequences of the failure of Lords reform is that the Liberal Democrats will wreak their revenge for the Conservatives’ ‘breach of contract’ by scuppering the… Continue reading
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