Beginning with Tim Bale’s article today, British Politics and Policy at LSE is launching a new theme – House of Lords reform.
In May, the government published proposals for a smaller, partially elected House of Lords. These proposals, contained in the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill, are very similar to work done by Patrick Dunleavy of the LSE Public Policy Group and Helen Margetts (now professor at the Oxford Internet Institute).
LSE Public Policy Group were consultants to the last Royal Commission on reform of the House of Lords, chaired by Lord Wakeham, which reported in 1999. Professor Dunleavy and Helen Margetts wrote a detailed exposition of how to elect a reformed upper House or Senate, but the Wakeham Commission decided to recommend maintaining an all-appointed Lords. Readers interested in the current House of Lords reform may like to read the earlier proposals:
Download a copy of the report: Electing the Members of the Lords (or Senate).
British Politics and Policy at LSE welcomes comments and contributions from all points of view about the government’s proposed reforms of the House of Lords. We are especially interested in international comparisons and points of view. If you would like to contribute, please get in touch with the British Politics and Policy at LSE blog team.
You may also be interested in the following articles from the OurKingdom blog:
- Lords reform will strengthen Parliament as a whole: an MP’s call to the Commons– Laura Sandys
- Sortition won’t lie down: a blueprint for a truly representative House of Lords –Max Atkinson
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On Monday, 18 July, the Constitution Society, CentreForum and British Government @ LSE hosted the debate, The future of the House of Lords. The debate brought together MPs, peers and academics to discuss the proposals set out in the Draft Bill and the prospects for reform of the House.
The speakers were:
- Mark Harper MP, Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, who was in favour of the proposed reforms;
- Professor Patrick Dunleavy, London School of Economics, who was also in favour, but urged the reforms to go further;
- Professor the Rt Revd Lord Harries, who was skeptical of the proposals and advocated a hybrid system;
- Professor Tim Bale, University of Sussex, who was against the proposals.
Click here for more details and to download “The End of the Peer Show?”