Time: 12:00 - 2:00pm
After a century of reform, the House of Lords remains a deeply controversial institution. Yet it plays a crucial role in our system of government, with the power to scrutinise, revise and delay legislation. For its critics, it is, at best, an anomaly in a democratic constitution, and, at worst, a bastion of cronyism and unearned privilege. For its supporters, it provides expert scrutiny of legislation, represents a wider range of voices than the Commons, and offers the only effective check on a government with a majority in the Lower House.
As part of the Mile End Institute’s “Future of Democracy” series, our expert panel explored the future of the House of Lords and its place in a democratic state.
Does Britain need a second chamber? What functions it should perform? What options might be available for change?
Panel:
Baroness Grey-Thompson (Tanni Grey-Thompson) - Paralympian, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords, where she sits on the Cross Benches. She has won 16 Paralympic medals, including 11 golds, held more than 30 world records and won the London marathon six times. She is a patron of numerous charities, Chancellor of the University of Northumbria, and has served on the boards of the London Marathon, Transport for London and the London Legacy Development Corporation. In 2010 she was appointed to the House of Lords, where she sits as Baroness Grey-Thompson. She has spoken in the House on a wide range of issues, including Disability Rights, Welfare Reform and Sport.
Lord Norton of Louth (Philip Norton) - Professor of Government and Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies at the University of Hull, and one of the UK’s foremost constitutional experts. His many books include Parliament in British Politics, Reform of the House of Lords and, most recently, Governing Britain: Parliament, Ministers and Our Ambiguous Constitution. He received a life peerage in 1998, as Lord Norton of Louth, and chaired the House of Lords Constitution Committee from 2001 to 2004. He is the Convenor of the Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber.
Professor Meg Russell - Professor of British and Comparative Politics at University College London, and Director of the Constitution Unit. As one of the leading constitutional authorities in the country, she regularly testifies to parliamentary committees and inquiries. In 1999 she was a consultant to the Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords, and she has acted as an adviser to the House of Lords Appointment Commission and the Lord Speaker’s Committee on the Size of the House. She is the author of Reforming the House of Lords: Lessons from Overseas, The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived and many other books, reports and pamphlets.
Chair:
Robert Saunders - Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London. He is also Co-Director, with Prof Tim Bale, of the Mile End Institute. His books include Democracy and the Vote in British Politics, 1848-1867 and Yes to Europe! The 1975 Referendum and Seventies Britain, and he is currently researching a new history of democracy in Britain.
A recording of this event is available on our YouTube Channel.