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Eight key obstacles on the road to Lords reform
Press Release Today the government publishes its proposals for Lords reform, but experts from UCL’s Constitution Unit warn that their success is far from assured, pointing out eight particular...
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Prospects for Lords Reform: A View from the Joint Committee
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean and Lord Tyler Date: Wednesday 14 December, 1.00 pm Venue: Council Room, The Constitution Unit Established in July this year, The Joint Committee on the Draft House of...
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The Perils of Lords Reform: interview with Mark Harper and Meg Russell
Alex Stevenson’s piece from politics.co.uk The coalition’s plans for an elected second chamber are well underway – but can they be turned into reality? Alex Stevenson speaks to constitutional reform...
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Constitutional Reform in the Queen’s Speech
Constitutional reform featured strongly in Queen’s Speech today, setting out legislation for the coming session of Parliament. The Unit dissects… Lords Reform Bill This faces massive opposition in...
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Meg Russell on Lords Reform
The government will unveil its House of Lords reform bill on Wednesday. This follows the publication in April of the Joint Committee’s report on the government’s draft bill. Since January there has...
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Failure of Lords reform does not threaten the Coalition
There has been lots of excited talk about whether the stand off on Lords reform spells the end of the coalition. It doesn’t. It suits the media to talk it up as a crisis, but people need to keep...
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Defeat of Lords reform a blow for Clegg and the Coalition
Nick Clegg’s announcement on 6 August that he is abandoning his bill for an elected second chamber is a serious defeat for the Deputy Prime Minister which also marks a turning point for the coalition....
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The chamber has become too big, and the patronage enjoyed by the Prime...
Meg Russell’s letter in The Times Sir, Lord Steel of Aikwood (“Clegg will look petulant if he walks away”, Aug 8) has suggested that the Constitution Unit might assist in finding the long-term way...
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The referendum: “the weapon of entrenchment” can be a two edged sword
2nd March 2013 Gabriele has discussed below some of the implications of what Vernon Bogdanor has identified as the new constitutional convention of the referendum. One of the bonuses of a Vernon event...
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What will become of the May 2015 UK Parliament if Scotland votes “Yes” on...
23rd March 2013 Every so often – but not very often – a major theme enters the national debate which nobody noticed much at first, but when attention is drawn to it, it becomes completely obvious....
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Lords reform next steps: small, but urgent!
17th October 2013 Today sees the publication of the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee (PCRC) report “House of Lords reform: what next?”. It also sees a story in The Times...
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The Byles bill on Lords reform is important: but needs amending if it’s not...
Lords reform is an ever-running saga. Generally there is no shortage of proposals, but few concrete opportunities for change occur. Throughout the Labour years, after the removal of the hereditary...
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The Byles/Steel bill – unless amended – holds grave dangers for the Lords
On Friday 28 February Dan Byles’ Private Member’s Bill on Lords reform completed its Commons passage. It is now in the Lords, and will be sponsored by David Steel. The bill, which allows retirement...
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Lords appointments urgently need reforming: but how?
The appointment of new peers last week has pushed the size of the Lords to its greatest since it was last reformed in 1999. Meg Russell highlights the issues behind having such a large and ‘unruly’...
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Enough is enough: Time to regulate prime ministerial appointments to the Lords
This week the Constitution Unit publishes a new report arguing that the time has come to regulate prime ministerial appointments to the House of Lords – to prevent the chamber’s size escalating...
View ArticleThe Labour Party’s long-standing lethargy over House of Lords reform
Labour recently announced that any new peers it nominates must commit to abolishing the House of Lords. In this post, Pete Dorey discusses Labour’s track record on Lords reform and why the party has...
View ArticleThe failed Senate reform in Italy: international lessons on why bicameral...
On 11 and 12 June 2018 the Constitution Unit co-hosted two workshops with Rome LUISS university, the first being on ‘The challenges of reforming upper houses in the UK and Italy’. This post is the...
View ArticleNo end to hereditary peer by-elections in the House of Lords?
The House of Lords is not entirely unelected; July saw two new peers appointed following elections involving a very small, select group of electors. In this post, former Clerk of the Parliaments David...
View ArticleReducing the size of the House of Lords: two steps forward, two steps back
There has for some time been an apparent consensus in parliament and government that the House of Lords has too many members, yet recent efforts to effect reform have made little progress. David...
View ArticleRethinking Democracy: three routes to majority government
After 65 years of single-party government in the House of Commons, the last three general elections have led to three differently constituted governments: a two-party coalition, a Conservative majority...
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