How are peers appointed to the House of Lords? The House of Lords is the second chamber of our Parliament. Before bills become laws, they must pass through the House of Lords, and Lords themselves play a key role in scrutinising public policy. That... Posted 29 Jan 2025
Listen to our conversation with Mark Drakeford MS on Welsh democracy Back at Welsh Labour party conference in November, ERS Cymru hosted an ‘in conversation’ with Mark Drakeford MS where he reflected on the past, the present and the future of Welsh democracy. In a wide... Posted 16 Jan 2025
Where next for Welsh democracy as Plaid Cymru top Senedd voting intention poll? The latest Barn Cymru poll released earlier in December by YouGov for ITV Wales and Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre suggests that Plaid Cymru could be the largest party in the Senedd come 2026. The... Posted 18 Dec 2024
The Commons versus the Lords: What’s the difference? Our parliament is made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, but do we really need two chambers? It can be tempting to see it as pointless duplication, but the colour... Posted 04 Nov 2024
Hereditary Peers: Thank you for your contribution, and goodnight Last night, the first debate of the Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill happened in the House of Commons. The Bill, if passed, will remove the remaining 92 Peers who sit in our House of Lords purely... Posted 16 Oct 2024
The plans to remove all the hereditary peers are now in motion Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for, plans have been laid for the final 92 hereditary peers to lose their places in the Lords! For over 700 years the House of Lords has contained Peers... Posted 05 Sep 2024
Does the House of Lords have any power? This July, the King’s Speech outlined the government’s intention to remove hereditary seats from the House of Lords. This is a positive step toward reforming parliament’s second chamber, as it signals the beginning of the... Posted 28 Aug 2024
King’s Speech signals first moves on Lords and electoral reform The first King’s Speech of any new government is a significant political moment. Amid the ostentation and pomp of the ceremony, the government lays out in detail the plans for its legislation in the new... Posted 24 Jul 2024
ERS in the Press – Coverage we’ve secured in the GE campaign You might have noticed that there’s a general election approaching. Whilst the date of the election may have taken us all a little by surprise, the ERS communications team were ready to go and making... Posted 25 Jun 2024
It’s not just hereditary peers that are ‘hard to justify’ – It’s the whole unelected chamber Earlier this week, the Labour leader in the House of Lords hinted that if Labour were to win the general election, we could finally see an end to the 92 hereditary peers in the House... Posted 16 May 2024