The House of Lords 1911-2011: A Century of Non-Reform
In the UK, House of Lords reform is often characterized as unfinished business: a riddle that has been left unanswered since 1911. But, rarely can an unanswered riddle have had so many answers offered, even though few have been accepted. Indeed, when Viscount Cave was invited in the mid-1920s to lead a Cabinet committee on Lords reform, he complained of finding 'the ground covered by an embarrassing mass of proposals.' That embarrassing mass increased throughout the 20th century. Much ink has been spilled on what should be done with the upper House of Parliament; much less ink has been expended on why reform has been so difficult to achieve. This book - now available in paperback - analyzes in detail the principal attempts to reform the House of Lords. Starting with the Parliament Act of 1911, the book examines the century of non-reform that followed, drawing upon substantial archival sources, many of which have been under-utilized until now. These sources challenge many of the existing understandings of the history of House of Lords reform and the reasons for success or failure of reform attempts. The book begins by arguing against the popular idea that the 1911 Act was intended by its supporters to be a temporary measure. The book will be of interest to all those working in constitutional law, as well as those with an interest in legal history. (Series: Hart Studies in Constitutional Law - Vol. 1)
1110867826
The House of Lords 1911-2011: A Century of Non-Reform
In the UK, House of Lords reform is often characterized as unfinished business: a riddle that has been left unanswered since 1911. But, rarely can an unanswered riddle have had so many answers offered, even though few have been accepted. Indeed, when Viscount Cave was invited in the mid-1920s to lead a Cabinet committee on Lords reform, he complained of finding 'the ground covered by an embarrassing mass of proposals.' That embarrassing mass increased throughout the 20th century. Much ink has been spilled on what should be done with the upper House of Parliament; much less ink has been expended on why reform has been so difficult to achieve. This book - now available in paperback - analyzes in detail the principal attempts to reform the House of Lords. Starting with the Parliament Act of 1911, the book examines the century of non-reform that followed, drawing upon substantial archival sources, many of which have been under-utilized until now. These sources challenge many of the existing understandings of the history of House of Lords reform and the reasons for success or failure of reform attempts. The book begins by arguing against the popular idea that the 1911 Act was intended by its supporters to be a temporary measure. The book will be of interest to all those working in constitutional law, as well as those with an interest in legal history. (Series: Hart Studies in Constitutional Law - Vol. 1)
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The House of Lords 1911-2011: A Century of Non-Reform

The House of Lords 1911-2011: A Century of Non-Reform

by Chris Ballinger
The House of Lords 1911-2011: A Century of Non-Reform

The House of Lords 1911-2011: A Century of Non-Reform

by Chris Ballinger

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

In the UK, House of Lords reform is often characterized as unfinished business: a riddle that has been left unanswered since 1911. But, rarely can an unanswered riddle have had so many answers offered, even though few have been accepted. Indeed, when Viscount Cave was invited in the mid-1920s to lead a Cabinet committee on Lords reform, he complained of finding 'the ground covered by an embarrassing mass of proposals.' That embarrassing mass increased throughout the 20th century. Much ink has been spilled on what should be done with the upper House of Parliament; much less ink has been expended on why reform has been so difficult to achieve. This book - now available in paperback - analyzes in detail the principal attempts to reform the House of Lords. Starting with the Parliament Act of 1911, the book examines the century of non-reform that followed, drawing upon substantial archival sources, many of which have been under-utilized until now. These sources challenge many of the existing understandings of the history of House of Lords reform and the reasons for success or failure of reform attempts. The book begins by arguing against the popular idea that the 1911 Act was intended by its supporters to be a temporary measure. The book will be of interest to all those working in constitutional law, as well as those with an interest in legal history. (Series: Hart Studies in Constitutional Law - Vol. 1)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781849466608
Publisher: Hart Publishing UK
Publication date: 05/01/2014
Series: Hart Studies in Constitutional Law
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Tables xiii

Introduction: Reform and Non-reform 1

Reform and Non-reform 1

A Century of Non-reform 3

The Evolution of the House of Lords 4

Twelve Instances of Reform and Non-reform 11

1 Veto Limitation over Reform: The Parliament Act 1911 15

The Political Situation, 1906-07 15

Cabinet Discussions on Lords Reform, 1907 16

Budget Rejection, 1909 20

Between the 1910 Elections 23

The Parliament Bill 1911 28

Reform following Veto Limitation? 1911-14 30

Conclusion 31

2 'The Battle is Over': House of Lords Reform, 1917-45 35

The Bryce Conference, 1917-18 35

Cabinet Committees, 1921-22 39

The Cabinet Committee, 1925-27 43

Lords reform in the 1920s 46

Avoiding Reform, 1928-45 46

3 A Pre-emptive Strike: The Parliament Act 1949 51

Labour and the House of Lords 52

Moves Towards reform, 1943-47 54

Nationalisation and House of Lords Reform 56

The Parliament Bill 1947 59

The Party Leaders' Conference 1948 64

The Parliament Bill Resumed 69

The Iron and Steel BUI 71

Conclusion 73

4 Diluting the Hereditary Principle?: The Life Peerages Act 1958 75

Life Peers 77

Inter-Party Discussions 77

Discussions, 1953-55 81

Limiting the Hereditaries: Proposals 83

Wider Reform: The Cabinet Committee, 1955-56 85

Short and Long Bills 87

The Life Peerages Bill 93

Limiting the Hereditary Peers 94

Conclusion 97

5 'The Wedgwood Benn Enabling Bill': The Peerage Act 1963 101

A Hereditary Life Peerage 103

Earlier Attempts at Renouncing Peerages 104

The Persistent Commoner 106

Fears over Loss of the Hereditary System 107

Party Support for Benn 108

The Committee of Privileges 109

'Re-election' 110

Sealing the 'Defeated' Candidate 113

The Joint Select Committee 114

The Peerage Bill 118

Conclusion 122

6 Adding to Wilson's Strife: The Inter-Party Conference and the Parliament (No 2) Bill [1968-69] 127

Abandoning the Unilateral, Two-Stage Approach 131

The Inter-Party Conference 133

The Southern Rhodesia (United Nations Sanctions) Order 1968 137

The White Paper and the Decision to Proceed with the Bill 140

The Parliament (No 2) Bill 142

Abandoning the Bill 150

1970 153

Conclusion 153

Epilogue: House of Lords Reform, 1970-74 154

After 1974 158

7 Stage One of Two?: The House of Lords Act 1999 159

Turning the Tide of Constitutional Reform 160

John Smith's Leadership 162

Tony Blair and House of Lords Reform 162

Post-election 1997 163

Priorities for the First Session 164

The Cabinet Committee 166

The Queen's Speech 1998 169

The Weatherill Amendment: Origins 169

The House of Lords Bill 173

By-elections for Hereditary Peers 174

Conclusion 177

8 The Long Stage Two: The Wakeham Commission and Beyond 179

The Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords 179

Follow-up to the Royals Commissions's Report 189

2001-05: Indecision, then a Surprising Move on Reform 190

Lords Reform in Labour's Third Term 200

2010: General Election and Coalition Government 204

Conclusion 209

9 Reasons for Reform and Non-reform 211

How and Why Does House of Lords Reform Reach the Cabinet's Agenda? 214

How Do Proposals Change When Under Consideration? 215

How and Why Do Proposals Succeed or Fail? 216

Conclusion 219

Further Reading 221

Bibliography 225

Index 241

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