Tag Archives: house of lords

Stephen Tall

Papering over the crack of the elephant in the room

By Stephen Tall | Fri 22nd May 2009 - 2:11 pm

Yesterday was a sad day for the Lib Dems. First, because we lost as chief executive a proven successful campaigner, Lord (Chris) Rennard, who helped save the post-merger Lib Dems from near extinction. And, secondly, because the way in which he was forced to announce his resignation resolved nothing, and was entirely lacking in dignity.

It has been clear to everyone since the News of the World alleged that Chris had claimed £41k in Lords’ allowances after designating his Eastbourne flat as his main residence (rather than his London house) that Chris and the party would need to make a …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 46 Comments
David Howarth

David Howarth MP writes… My top priorities as Lib Dem shadow secretary of state for justice

By David Howarth | Fri 13th February 2009 - 5:05 pm

The main responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice are the criminal justice system, including prisons and probation, and constitutional reform. Crime has not been seen as a political strength for us in the past, but I believe that it could be, because we have very distinctive things to say. Constitutional reform is one of our traditional strengths, but the task there is to make it relevant to current politics.

There is a crisis in the criminal justice system of staggering proportions. The prison population is at a record high, and is eating up £ billions in public expenditure. 70% of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

Would the Tories kick Lord Belize Ashcroft out of the Upper Chamber?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 10th February 2009 - 6:40 pm

Over at the Mirror’s Kevin Maguire & Friends blog, Jason Beattie asks if the Tories are on the point of reversing their U-turn, and supporting a Lib Dem motion obliging anyone who sits in the House of Lords to be a UK resident for tax purposes:

This may seem like an obscure requirement but it could mean Lord Laidlaw (a Tory) Lord Paul (Labour) and possibly Lord Ashcroft (a Tory who has never come clean about where he pays his taxes) face being kicked out of the Upper House. When this bill was first introduced by the Lib Dem Lord

…

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Mark Pack

The political make-up of the House of Lords

By Mark Pack | Tue 10th February 2009 - 12:25 pm

Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:

With reform of the House of Lords back in the news following the latest scandals over who is in it and how they behave, now seems a good time to provide some background on its political make-up.

Since political parties first emerged in British politics, the then wholly hereditary House of Lords consistently had a very large Conservative majority.

For example, in 1900 there were 354 Conservative peers out of the 574 adult peers, giving a “majority” of 134. By 1938 it had grown to 761 adult peers, and of these 519 were Conservative, giving a “majority”

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Posted in Parliament | 1 Comment
Nick Clegg MP

Back our campaign to get an elected House of Lords

By Nick Clegg MP | Fri 6th February 2009 - 12:00 pm

Over the last few weeks our newspapers have been filled with headlines about alleged corruption in the House of Lords. The accusations of peers amending laws in exchange for cash are deeply shocking, and this case points to the urgent need to reform our Parliament and revive British democracy.

The truth is, it’s high time we drag our political system into the 21st century. For millions of people across the UK our Parliament feels remote and out of touch and nowhere more so than the House of Lords, where power still rests on privilege. Labour has failed to live up to …

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Posted in News, Op-eds and Parliament | Also tagged | 20 Comments
Edwin Loo

Opinion: The Elephant In The Room

By Edwin Loo | Tue 3rd February 2009 - 7:15 pm

There is something very wrong with the House of Lords- but it is nothing compared to the consequences of a botched attempt at reform under our ‘flexible’ constitution.

The recent outbreak of the ‘Peers-for-Hire’ scandal has led to renewed calls for ‘reform’ of the House of Lords – and from all sides of the political spectrum. Labour members would love to see a fully elected House of Lords, while Conservative members, despite their reservations, are now slowly heading in that direction. Both parties, however, seem to completely miss the point. And we as Liberal Democrats – as much as it seems …

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Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Also tagged | 9 Comments
The Voice

CommentIsLinked@LDV: Chris Huhne – Cleaning up the house

By The Voice | Tue 27th January 2009 - 3:20 pm

Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free blog, Lib Dem shadow home secretary Chris Huhne argues that the cash-for-influence scandal is evidence that the House of Lords requires major reform – and a police investigation. You can read it in full here, but here’s an excerpt:

There are no adequate safeguards within the House of Lords to bring the matter to justice, as there is no easy means of suspending or expelling peers. Unlike the Commons, which was cattle-prodded into reform by Tory sleaze in the 1990s, the Lords has never had a crisis. … That is an important reason

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