Archive for constitutional reform
Letters on Lords reform: Stuart Bonar
Good letter on Lords reform last week from Stuart Bonar in Liberal Democrat News. If you agree with Stuart, why not also send a letter for publication to Liberal Democrat News on ldn@libdems.org.uk? You can also sign up to support the grassroots Liberal Democrats for Lords Reform campaign on Facebook.
Letters on Lords reform: Rob Blackie
Good letter on Lords reform last week from Rob Blackie in Liberal Democrat News. If you agree with Rob, why not also send a letter for publication to Liberal Democrat News on ldn@libdems.org.uk? You can also sign up to support the grassroots Liberal Democrats for Lords Reform campaign on Facebook.
Lord McNally fully backs reforming the Lords
There’s been quite a lot of muttering from politicians about now Lords reform, although featuring in the manifestos of all three main parties at the general election, might not quite be needed or quite yet. That’s even included, regrettably, Liberal Democrat ranks in the Lords. But Tom McNally, Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, gave those [...]
Lib Dems must not ditch commitment to political reform
Earlier in the week I penned this guest post for The Holmes Report: Even keen electoral reformers are acknowledging that their heavy defeat in the AV referendum earlier this month means changing the electoral system for the House of Commons is a dead issue for a good few years, at the very least. So where [...]
David Cameron's fullsome support for House of Lords reform
Regular Liberal Democrat Voice contributor Nick Thornsby has made a good spot with his blog piece yesterday, putting up a clip showing how David Cameron is on record as fully supporting Lords reform – and criticising others who have not got on with it. Despite reports to the contrary of his reluctance to pursue the [...]
House of Lords reform: taking a look at the details
Yesterday Nick Clegg unveiled the Government’s proposals for reforming the House of Lords, an idea that David Cameron is on record as fully backing. The mere idea of introducing elections for half of our Parliament is shocking enough for some (letting the public decide who rules them? what a radical idea) that the details have [...]
The Sunday papers on Lords, environment and Chris Huhne
From The Observer: Cabinet ministers have agreed a far-reaching, legally binding “green deal” that will commit the UK to two decades of drastic cuts in carbon emissions… The deal was hammered out after tense arguments between ministers who had disagreed over whether the ambitious plans to switch to more green energy were affordable. The row [...]
The other Parliamentary electoral reform coming along
Today’s Sunday Telegraph has a piece on Lords reform – on which the Coalition Agreement from last year promises a mostly elected Upper House, with elections by “proportional representation”. Because that’s why the agreement says, I think the Telegraph over-eggs the issue a little with the sub-headline: “David Cameron is planning to allow peers to [...]
How do the government’s political reforms measure up to the Great Reform Act?
Earlier this year I spoke in the National Liberal Club alongside the History of Parliament Trust’s Philip Salmon (and author of a very good book) about the historical context for the Coalition Government’s political reform program. Soon after becoming Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg promised “the most significant programmes of reform by a British government [...]
