House of Lords- Require a Reform?
QUESTION
“…reform of the House of Lords remains unfinished business. There are still 92 hereditary peers sitting in the Lords. But ending the anomaly, in the Government’s view, does not go far enough to ensure that Britain’s second chamber is fit to meet the demands and expectations of this century. The legitimacy and authority of the second chamber continued to be called into question”
The Rt. Hon. Jack Straw, former leader of the House of Commons, The House of Lords: Reform, February 2007
In recent years there have been many attempts to reform the House of Lords. Critically analyse this situation with view of the reforms that have already taken place, and how this will affect the Westminster parliament
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Statutes
Acts of Union 1707 & 1800
Bill of Rights 1689
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Sect 2, 23 & 61
House of Lords Act 1999 Sect 1, 2(1) & (2)
Life Peerages Act 1958 Sect 1
Magna Carta
Parliamentary Act 1911 Sect 1 & 2
Parliamentary Act 1949 Sect 1
Peerage Act 1963 Sect 1, 4 & 6
Reform Act 1831
ANSWER
Two houses reside within the courts of the Parliament, namely the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Lords is known as the Upper House or the Second Chamber of Parliament of the United Kingdom and it plays a vital role in governing the government. Within the Parliament, both houses have the duty to scrutinise, make and amend law; however with the passing of time the House of Lords had had many reforms that lead to their decrement in power. Currently in the House of Commons, elected representatives of political parties sit in and is more superior compared to the House of Lords, where appointed and a marginal number of hereditary peers by Her Royal Majesty, the Queen sit in.
History of the Parliament - Historical Timeline of reforms in the Lords
Countless
“…reform of the House of Lords remains unfinished business. There are still 92 hereditary peers sitting in the Lords. But ending the anomaly, in the Government’s view, does not go far enough to ensure that Britain’s second chamber is fit to meet the demands and expectations of this century. The legitimacy and authority of the second chamber continued to be called into question”
The Rt. Hon. Jack Straw, former leader of the House of Commons, The House of Lords: Reform, February 2007
In recent years there have been many attempts to reform the House of Lords. Critically analyse this situation with view of the reforms that have already taken place, and how this will affect the Westminster parliament
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Statutes
Acts of Union 1707 & 1800
Bill of Rights 1689
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Sect 2, 23 & 61
House of Lords Act 1999 Sect 1, 2(1) & (2)
Life Peerages Act 1958 Sect 1
Magna Carta
Parliamentary Act 1911 Sect 1 & 2
Parliamentary Act 1949 Sect 1
Peerage Act 1963 Sect 1, 4 & 6
Reform Act 1831
ANSWER
Two houses reside within the courts of the Parliament, namely the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Lords is known as the Upper House or the Second Chamber of Parliament of the United Kingdom and it plays a vital role in governing the government. Within the Parliament, both houses have the duty to scrutinise, make and amend law; however with the passing of time the House of Lords had had many reforms that lead to their decrement in power. Currently in the House of Commons, elected representatives of political parties sit in and is more superior compared to the House of Lords, where appointed and a marginal number of hereditary peers by Her Royal Majesty, the Queen sit in.
History of the Parliament - Historical Timeline of reforms in the Lords
Countless