Unit Director Meg Russell is joined on the panel by @Tanni_GT and @LordNortonLouth for what looks like will be a fascinating discussion on the House of Lords and reform @MileEndInst
Meg explains that debates on Lords reform have long been a feature of British politics. Going back as far as 1911 there have been incremental reforms to the chamber.
One of the more recent changes occurred in 2014 which allowed peers to retire.
Meg reminds us that debates concerning reform of the function and role of the second chamber is not unique to the UK.
Neither is the view that the second chamber is undemocratic, nor the failure to agree on reform.
So, what makes reform tricky?
In the UK, the differences in the role and functionality of the two chambers allows the second chamber to perform important roles:
▪️ a check on hasty policymaking
▪️ a source of different perspectives to that of the government.
At the same time, these differences leave democracies with a second chamber with a central conundrum: if the two chambers are consistently in agreement, a second chamber seems pointless; if they constantly disagree, it is problematic for policymaking.
Any huge reform requires deep thinking & public engagement.
Doing nothing would be dangerous as consistent attacks on HoL erodes legitimacy, and therefore the consequences of parliament.
There are some small, and immediate steps that should be taken
▪️ limiting appointments to the chamber
▪️ ending hereditary peer by-elections
You can see Meg's blog on the need to constrain ministerial appointments to the HoL here: bit.ly/364J8lb
Here's the excellent line-up in action.
If you are curious about what the House of Lords does, catching up on this event is really worth your while!
Following 14 months of research, deliberation, interviews and consultation, the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland launches its interim report.
To launch the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland’s interim report the Group is convening a series of webinars.
The webinars are an opportunity for discussion of the report’s purposes, analysis, and conclusions
Details👇
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The Unit is hosting one of the webinars
3 December @ 1pm
Chair of the group @alanjrenwick will be joined on the panel with Working Group member Alan Whysall, former senior civil servant Clare Salters & @martinkettle
This looks bad. Government using its control of the Commons agenda to manipulate debate on whether MPs can participate virtually in proceedings during the pandemic.
Which is surely, if anything is, a matter that MPs themselves should be able properly and fairly to decide.
Oddly, this fails to mention Conservative @CommonsProcCom chair Karen Bradley, & the Conservative co-sponsor of @RhonddaBryant's amendment, & that they all supported that amendment in order to open up virtual participation to a larger number of excluded MPs but JRM blocked it.
The Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland launches its interim report on 26 Nov.
This will contain a wealth of considered analysis.
But first, here’s what you need to know about the report and the Group 👇
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What’s the report about?
It explores how any future referendum on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status would best be designed and conducted. The Group is neutral on whether a unification referendum should be held & on what the outcome should be vimeo.com/444466668
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What is the Working Group?
The Group comprises researchers at universities in Belfast, Dublin, London, & USA, chaired by Unit Deputy Director @alanjrenwick. It is independent of both governments and all political parties. vimeo.com/439174225
Two more days of report stage for the UK Internal Market Bill are to come next week. The government was also defeated on two amendments to the Fire Safety Bill earlier this week, and are currently debating Commons amendments to the Private International Law Bill.