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9781849462891


Parution : 10/2012
Editeur : Hart
ISBN : 978-1-8494-6289-1

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

Chr. Ballinger
Chris Ballinger

The House of Lords 1911-2011A Century of Non-ReformOxford, Hart Publishing (Hart Studies in Constitutionnal Law n°1), oct. 2012, 264 p., ISBN:9781849462891, £30.Présentation éditeurHouse of Lords reform is often characterised 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 twentieth 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 analyses 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-utilised 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.'No one – peers included – should be allowed to pronounce about the future of the House of Lords without reading Chris Ballinger's authoritative, shrewd and readable account about reform attempts over the past century. He punctures several widely-held myths and claims in the current debate.'Rt Hon Peter Riddell CBEDirector, Institute for Government and former Hansard Society chairSommaire

  • 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 Bill 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
  • Seating 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 221Bibliography 225Index 241 Source: http://www.hartpub.co.uk/books/details.asp?isbn=9781849462891