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
What happens when the Lords defeat the Government? The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, allowing deportations to Rwanda for certain migrants who arrive in the UK via illegal routes, completed its passage through Parliament overnight on Monday 22 April, and gained... Posted 08 May 2024
Peter Mandelson should save his slimming tips for the House of Lords Lord Peter Mandelson found himself in the headlines a couple of times this week. Firstly, when he criticised Labour’s plans to scrap the unelected Lords and replace it with an elected chamber that better represents... Posted 07 Mar 2024
Why an elected second chamber won’t lead to gridlock Looking across the Atlantic at America’s Senate, it’s clear why concerns are often expressed that an elected second chamber may challenge the primacy of the House of Commons and at the extreme end, result in... Posted 19 Feb 2024
As more peers are crammed in the Lords, the public support elected members Late on Friday, the Government slipped out its latest honours list, which will add 13 new peers to the already-heaving House of Lords. Among the newly-ennobled are the usual clutch of party donors and advisors.... Posted 13 Feb 2024
What is a Senate of the Regions and Nations? Over the years many parties and groups have suggested ideas for reform of the House of Lords. Recently, the Labour party has suggested that the House of Lords should be replaced with a ‘Senate of... Posted 01 Feb 2024
What is the role of the House of Lords and could it do more? While the House of Lords is often in the press, it’s often due to the things its members should not be doing, rather than the work it does do. The chamber though has an important... Posted 29 Jan 2024
ERS in the Press – January 2024 Despite being one of our country’s shortest ever Prime Ministers Liz Truss dominated the headlines over the festive period. The ERS press team were ready and waiting to get our arguments around the House of... Posted 18 Jan 2024
The UK’s shortest serving PM hands out peerages to friends and supporters In the days between Christmas and New Year, the government tried to quietly slip out some bad news – it hoped many people would be too distracted by remnant cheeseboards and left-over Turkey to notice... Posted 02 Jan 2024