House of Lords
The Tory fight for Lords reform
Last night a group of Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs met to discuss Lords reform. Public outbursts from the Conservative backbench have so far focused on opposition to the bill… Continue reading
5 Comments Hereditary Lords
House of Lords reform? Most politicos are debating whether to elect senators or maintain the status-quo. Not so the Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives, who held an evening discussion about… Continue reading
26 Comments
Lords reform is an ill-considered pet project
At the first meeting of the 1922 Committee following the 2010 election, I was the only new MP to speak. I used my time to set out why I would… Continue reading
42 Comments Long nights of Lords reform ahead
The concessions that David Cameron has reportedly offered the Conservative backbench on Lords reform are really not sufficient to keep them out of the no lobbies. Switching from a salary… Continue reading
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The big beast Boris savages Lords reform
The coalition’s plan for House of Lords reform will go to Cabinet on Tuesday. It could have a trickier time there than expected: some Tory Cabinet ministers who favour an… Continue reading
16 Comments Danger in the Lords
Opponents of an elected House of Lords have been flexing their muscles in the last few days. Yesterday, Archie Hamilton, a Tory peer and former chairman of the 1922 Committee,… Continue reading
9 Comments
Where arms dealers meet do-gooders
Yesterday saw the annual Commons vs. Lords Tug of War, in aid of Macmillan and sponsored by BAE. Battle was joined at Westminster College Gardens, behind the cloisters of Westminster… Continue reading
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The expenses spotlight falls on Baroness Warsi
If David Cameron had a list of headlines he doesn’t want to see, I’m sure ‘Top Tory in expenses scandal’ would be near the top of it. Yet that’s what… Continue reading
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The public doesn’t want the government to drop Lords reform or gay marriage
It’s been a fashionable line on the Tory right of late that if the government pushes ahead with Lords reform and same-sex marriage, it will be out-of-step with public opinion.… Continue reading
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Boris keeps on charming his party
Not since Michael Heseltine has there been a politician who is so adept at finding the g-spot of the Tory faithful as Boris Johnson. His column today in the Telegraph… Continue reading
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Hammond speaks out
Generally speaking, Philip Hammond is one of the Cabinet’s quieter members; a sort of human calculator designed to run a department efficiently and with the minimum of fuss. Which is… Continue reading
25 Comments
First blood to the sceptics on Lords reform
The Queen’s Speech commitment that ‘A Bill will be brought forward to reform the composition of the House of Lords’ is a lot vaguer than theLiberal Democrats were hoping for, or… Continue reading
26 Comments
Today’s theatrics will soon be overshadowed by Leveson
Today’s Cameron-Clegg event was meant to be very different from the one in the Downing Street garden two years ago: grittier, more real. Watching it, one was struck by the… Continue reading
30 Comments
Whatever they say, Lords reform will remain on politcians’ minds
Have our politicos looked at last week’s turnout numbers, and thought ‘y’know, we might be a bit cut-off after all’? Reason I ask is because they’re all tripping over themselves… Continue reading
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The Lib Dems jostle for airtime
Yep, they’re inescapable, those Lib Dems. Even when the airwaves are dominated by Rupert Murdoch and Tom Watson, they’re there in the background, quietly adding to the day’s pile of… Continue reading
16 Comments
The View from 22 — 26 April 2012
Here, CoffeeHousers, is this week’s episode of The View From 22 podcast. Thank you for the continued feedback, we’ve tried to take as much as possible into account. In this… Continue reading
3 CommentsThe House of Lords Makes No Sense; Which is Why it Works
Of all the cockamamie ploys favoured by this government, House of Lords reform is close to being both the most pointless and the most aggravating. Iain Martin hints at this… Continue reading
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Cameron needs results that match his words
Further to James’s post on the Cameron interview, here’s what jumped out at me: 1. ‘Governments have difficult months. This government came together to dig this country out of the… Continue reading
25 Comments
Cameron tries to return to the big picture
David Cameron is out doing the media rounds today. He wants to, in his words, get back to the ‘big picture’, the argument over deficit reduction. Indeed, Danny Alexander’s speech… Continue reading
21 Comments
Clegg stands firm against Lords referendum
In his interview with Andrew Neil on the Sunday Politics, Nick Clegg argued against a referendum on Lords reform on the grounds that the three main parties all agree on… Continue reading
23 Comments