House of Lords

The Queen’s Speech at the state opening of parliament (source UK Parliament)

It is common for a democratic parliamentary system to have a bicameral legislature, with a directly elected lower chamber and a second, revising chamber.  The United Kingdom is unusual in that its second chamber is largely nominated rather than elected, and those that are not nominated are drawn from the hereditary aristocracy.

There has been much recent debate  about how the House of Lords should be reformed – with the expulsion of most of the hereditaries a notable change – but the British system is still archaic compared with most other countries. 

Articles

You can find the archive of Federal Union articles on reform of the House of Lords here.

  • The House of Lords is a mess

    The House of Lords is a mess.  It brings together in one place party political nominees (often former MPs), acknowledged experts on particular issues, descendants of drinking buddies of long-deceased […]

  • Federal Union review of 2011

    Last year was dominated by the crisis in the eurozone.  It dominated the debate about the future of European integration, obviously, but has also turned out to be a major […]

  • Should we tinker with the House of Lords or leave well alone?

    Letter published in the Times, 20 August 2011 Sir, Professor Bogdanor’s warnings of possible gridlock between two elected Houses in Parliament are well made but one might question the assumption […]

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