The row over Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list highlights why it should be the last The recent days have seen the national focus pulled onto the House of Lords through the public row between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson over the latter’s resignation honours list. While the spat has provided... Posted 13 Jun 2023
New polling shows 61% oppose Boris Johnson’s resignation peerages Our new polling has found that just one in 14 people (7%) support Boris Johnson stuffing more peers into the already bulging House of Lords with his resignation honours list. Polling of 2,050 people, conducted... Posted 28 Mar 2023
How we could make the House of Lords gender equal overnight It is a quiet scandal that 105 years after women first won the vote they are still grossly under-represented in Parliament. Women make up just over a third of MPs in the Commons and the... Posted 08 Mar 2023
What elections should the next government reform? Last week we published a blog on UK electoral reforms since 1997 and highlighted that whilst at Westminster the fight for electoral reform continues, the progress of reform across the UK increased and voters are... Posted 08 Mar 2023
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
Brown Commission reforms offer first blueprint for much-needed democratic renewal Gordon Brown has now released A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy – the findings of his Commission into how to repair our political system. In publishing this report, Keir Starmer is... Posted 06 Dec 2022
Life-time appointments to Lords should not be handed out as rewards for failure A seat in the House of Lords is a lifetime appointment to make our laws, not a gift to be handed out by a prime minister as they head out the door. Yet the prime... Posted 01 Nov 2022
A majority of people oppose Boris Johnson’s plans to pack the Lords with new peers Our new polling has found that the majority of people (54%) oppose Boris Johnson’s plans to pack the Lords with new peers just weeks before he leaves office. Some prime ministers appoint a group of... Posted 16 Aug 2022
It’s time to scrap the tradition of resignation honours Boris Johnson cannot be allowed to use his final days in power to pack the Lords with his supporters and allies. Boris Johnson’s days in Downing Street are numbered but that hasn’t stopped him planning... Posted 29 Jul 2022
Johnson’s resignation honours list will last a lifetime With the Prime Minister set to exit Downing Street in the near future, attention has turned to who’s staying behind: his resignation honours list. It is tradition for departing PMs to create new life peerages... Posted 28 Jul 2022