Our bloated second chamber The House of Lords is already the biggest chamber in the democratic world – yet it is growing in size with each new government. As peers sit in the chamber for life, it grows with... Posted 19 Oct 2015
Localism and devolution – ERS at Labour conference “Devolution is a hot topic,” said Jane Dudman, Guardian Public Leaders editor, who chaired the first of three ERS fringe events at Labour Party Conference 2015. The topic was: “can Labour reclaim devolution and localism?”... Posted 13 Oct 2015
Party over Principle: Independence in the Lords The House of Lords is often assumed to be more independent than the Commons because it is less strongly whipped and because it contains Crossbench members who do not have a party affiliation. But it’s... Posted 09 Oct 2015
An Elected Lord? The British constitution, its parliament and its institutions are well known for its oddities and eccentricities: the space provided in the Commons cloakroom for MPs to hang their sword; the fact that all swans in... Posted 18 Sep 2015
The Scottish people should be involved in the devolution debate Yesterday (Wednesday 16th September) the Scottish Parliament debated ‘Scotland’s Future: Democracy and Devolution’. One year on from the independence referendum, and with the Scotland Bill due to go to report stage in the next few... Posted 17 Sep 2015
Costly cronies of the House of Lords In our new report, House of Lords Fact vs Fiction, we took a look at some of the enduring myths that surround our unelected second chamber. Peers are technically unpaid, but unlike the thousands of people... Posted 24 Aug 2015
It’s official: the House of Lords is completely bust Today, we can reveal that the House of Lords is officially, well and truly bust. We’re pleased to launch our new report on our unelected upper chamber: ‘House of Lords: Fact vs Fiction’ – where... Posted 16 Aug 2015
Andy Burnham’s identified the right problem – but his solution falls short Try as the political class might, calls to reform the House of Lords always come to the fore. So it’s no surprise that the issue has been on the agenda again for the past week.... Posted 10 Aug 2015
The House of Lords Needs a Major Overhaul, Not Tinkering Around the Edges Calls for reform of the House of Lords have been heard even more loudly that normal in the last ten days and the reason is fairly obvious. The current set-up comes nowhere close to being... Posted 04 Aug 2015
Devolution needs democracy – politicians should back fair votes for local government Tomorrow the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill has its Third Reading in the House of Lords – the final stage before it goes back to the Commons. It’s a Bill that will have a... Posted 20 Jul 2015