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House of Lords

House of Lords. Higher Modern Studies. The House of Lords. The House of Lords, along with the House of Commons, is the lynchpin of the British political system.

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House of Lords

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  1. House of Lords Higher Modern Studies

  2. The House of Lords • The House of Lords, along with the House of Commons, is the lynchpin of the British political system. • The House of Lords was for centuries the senior of the two Houses but in 1911 and 1949 acts were introduced that greatly reduced the power of the Lords. • The Labour government from 1997 on also used its time in power to reform the makeup of the House of Lords.

  3. The HoL is the second legislative chamber in Parliament • Scrutinises the work of Govt in the same way as the Commons • Members are not elected • 92 Hereditary Peers • Remainder are Life Peers (c600), Lords Spiritual (12) and Law Lords (26)

  4. Power • More time devoted to the passage of a Bill in the Lords therefore more careful consideration of legislation can be made and amendments added - seen as a ‘revising chamber’ • lack of party affiliation means it is less party political and so more critical of Govt than the Commons • May delay legislation through defeat in votes - this may defeat the Bill entirely if there is not time in the Commons for it to be debated again • Govt may force through legislation using Parliament Act e.g. Hunting Bill (2004)

  5. Why reform the House of Lords? • It is unelected, therefore undemocratic • it has a natural Conservative bias • part of Labour Party manifesto in 1997 • Lords repeatedly voted against Labour Govt - defeated 97 times in 2001

  6. The Wakeham Report • Lord Wakeham was asked by the Labour government to head a Royal Commission to investigate possible reforms to the House of Lords. • The report was delivered to the government on December 28th 1999 and made public in January 2000. The Wakeham Report contained 132 wide-ranging proposals. Its main recommendations were:

  7. Reform - Wakeham Report • 30% of members should be women • fair representation of ethnic minorities • broader religious representation • regional members appointed • independent commission to appoint members - removing Prime Ministerial patronage • it did not recommend an elected chamber

  8. Reforms • The number of Hereditary Peers was reduced to 92 by ballot • Post of Lord Chancellor to be abolished - presides over proceedings in the Lords as a Govt Minister, head of the Judiciary (courts)

  9. Future Reforms? • This remains uncertain as the Govt has backtracked and has made no specific pledge • elected Chamber • ‘hybrid’ Chamber - half elected, half appointed • appointed only Chamber

  10. What happened? • On 7 March 2007, Members of the House of Commons voted 337 to 224 for a fully elected House of Lords. • The House of Lords rejected the proposal and voted instead for an all appointed House

  11. House of Commons Reform As well as the House of Lords being reformed, the Labour Government has also made reforms to the House of Commons. • Liaison Committee - increases Parliamentary scrutiny over the Government • Select Committees have been given specialist staff to help improve scrutiny

  12. Question Time - moved to midday to reduce the time taken away from debates; only three days notice required for questions (not 14) to make questions more topical • The working day has been changed to avoid late sittings as much as possible - this allows those with families to work more effectively and should help encourage more women into Parliament • most Fridays are ‘constituency days’ to allow MPs to work in their constituency

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