House of Lords Reform: A History
Volume 4. 1971-2014: The Exclusion of Hereditary Peers - Book 1: 1971-2001 - Book 2: 2002-2014
1st Edition
Published on 29. April 2015
Book
Hardback
XXXII, 1252 pages
978-1-78997-300-6 (ISBN)
Description
Peter Raina's magnificent history of Lords reform has already brought into the public domain a mass of original documents and thrown light on the debates they fuelled. In Volume 4 he brings his study up to the present age.
The Thatcher and Blair governments were both determined to shake up the system, and in such times the old House of Lords began to look more and more outdated. Mrs Thatcher's inaction on the issue only increased calls for abolition or change. So the Blair government grasped the nettle. In one historic Act of Parliament it ejected hereditary peers from the House - except for 92 saved by a last-minute amendment. The negotiations and reactions surrounding this event are recorded here in lively detail.
This concluding book brings Peter Raina's History of Lords' Reform up to the end of 2014. It follows on from the banishment of hereditary peers from the House in the name of democracy. This was proclaimed as only the start of more sweeping change. What was to happen next?
The Thatcher and Blair governments were both determined to shake up the system, and in such times the old House of Lords began to look more and more outdated. Mrs Thatcher's inaction on the issue only increased calls for abolition or change. So the Blair government grasped the nettle. In one historic Act of Parliament it ejected hereditary peers from the House - except for 92 saved by a last-minute amendment. The negotiations and reactions surrounding this event are recorded here in lively detail.
This concluding book brings Peter Raina's History of Lords' Reform up to the end of 2014. It follows on from the banishment of hereditary peers from the House in the name of democracy. This was proclaimed as only the start of more sweeping change. What was to happen next?
Reviews / Votes
«Peter Raina's books on the House of Lords provide the most comprehensive and authoritative history of the evolution of a central institution in the British Parliamentary system. It is an indispensable study.» (Professor the Lord Plant of Highfield)«Volume 4 is an extraordinary work of scholarship» (Rt Hon. the Lord Lloyd of Berwick, former Lord Justice of Appeal and Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales)
«My congratulations on your achievement» (Rt Hon. the Baroness Hayman, former Lords Speaker)
«I am delighted to have such detailed volumes about the time when I was involved in the politics of reform» (Rt Hon the Baroness Jay of Paddington, former Leader of the House and Lord Privy Seal)
More details
Person
Peter Raina has been a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London, and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford. He is presently Senior Research Associate at the Graduate Centre of Balliol College, Oxford.
Content
Contents: Book 1: 1971-76. Reforms Suggested - 1977-79. Lords Reform: Earl Home's Review Committee - 1979. Mrs Thatcher's Reservations - 1980-96. A Multitude of Proposals - 1995-97. Party and Public Discussion on Reform - 1997. The Lords and the Labour Manifesto - 1999. Exclusion of Hereditary Peers: The Labour Government Bill - 2000. A House for the Future: Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords - 2001. Completing the Reform: A New White Paper - Book 2: 2002-03. The Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform - 2005. Constitutional Reform: The Lord Speaker - 2005. Voices From Outside and From Across the Parties - 2006. Conventions of the British Parliament - 2007. A New White Paper on Reform: Jack Straw - 2008. An Elected Second Chamber: The Cross-Party Group - 2011. A Draft Reform Bill - 2012. The Coalition Government's House of Lords Reform Bill - 2012. The House of Lords Reform Bill: Its Fate in the House of Commons - 2014. Dan Byles' House of Lords Reform Act 2014 and Two By-Elections - 2014. A Bill Empowering the House of Lords to Expel or Suspend Members: Baroness Hayman.