Are there whips in the House of Lords? From 1990s TV series House of Cards to James Graham’s play This House, the role of the Whip in British politics has long been a source of fascination. While much is said of Whips in... Posted 17 Feb 2023
Why are there Bishops in the House of Lords? When most people think of Bishops they imagine a man or woman saying prayers in a cathedral, not making the laws that govern all of us. But there are Bishops today who sit in the... Posted 29 Nov 2018
The House of Lords effectively has seats reserved for men The House of Lords is back in spotlight this morning, last night having again challenged the government’s Brexit plans by voting 336 to 268 for Parliament to be granted a meaningful vote on the final... Posted 08 Mar 2017
The inquiry on cutting the Lords risks looking like a stitch up Back in December, the House of Lords voted unanimously to back the statement “that this House believes that its size should be reduced, and methods should be explored by which this could be achieved”. It... Posted 14 Feb 2017
ERS Quiz UKIP’s Leadership Candidates on Democratic Reform UKIP’s leadership election is in full swing, with the results announced on the 16thSeptember. At the ERS, we’re running Q&As with the leadership candidates for UKIP – as well as the Labour Party, which... Posted 06 Sep 2016
The Canadian Senate – A second-rate second chamber In the current debate about Lords reform it can often be tempting to look for easy solutions which broadly keep the structure of the Lords as it is, but deal with some of its defects.... Posted 03 Aug 2015