The Deputy Prime Minister announced that coalition government plans for reform of the House of Lords were being abandoned in the face of opposition by backbench Conservative Party MPs. He said that the Liberal Democrat Party would therefore withdraw its support for plans to reduce the size of the House of Commons and redraw parliamentary constituency boundaries.
Source: Press release 6 August 2012, Nick Clegg MP (Deputy Prime Minister)
Links: DPM press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BHA press release | ERS press release | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Aug
The House of Lords Reform Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to make the upper chamber largely elected, and to reduce its size. But the coalition government withdrew a motion setting out a timetable for further debate, following opposition by Conservative MPs.
Source: House of Lords Reform Bill, Cabinet Office, TSO | Debate 10 July 2012, columns 188-278, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | Constitution Unit press release | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jul
The House of Lords Reform Bill was published. The Bill was designed to reduce the number of members from 826 to 450, and make 80 per cent of them elected. The government also published its response to a report by a joint committee of MPs and peers on an earlier draft Bill.
Source: House of Lords Reform Bill, Cabinet Office, TSO | Government Response to the Report of the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill, Cm 8391, Cabinet Office, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Cabinet Office press release | Response to JC report | BHA press release | C of E press release | Constitution Unit press release | NSS press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2012-Jun
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that a reformed House of Lords should have an electoral mandate – provided that it had commensurate powers. A reformed chamber should be 80 per cent elected, and there should be a referendum before any change was made. A more assertive House would not enhance Parliament's overall role in relation to the activities of the executive: any overall strengthening of Parliament would therefore have to be subject to a defined understanding of the relationship between the Commons and the reformed House and of any conventions governing that relationship.
Source: Draft House of Lords Reform Bill, Report (Session 2010-12), HC 284 and HL 1313, Joint Select Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill, TSO
Links: Report | Oral and associated written evidence | Other written evidence | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined women's representation in national parliaments in a sample of developed (OECD) countries. The proportion of women in parliament was explicable in terms of culture – particularly attitudes towards women as political leaders.
Source: Didier Ruedin, 'The representation of women in national parliaments: a cross-national comparison', European Sociological Review, Volume 28 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan