The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived
Meg Russell
Abstract
This book is the first major study of the House of Lords since the reform in 1999 by Tony Blair's Labour government which removed most hereditary peers. It describes the membership of the chamber, its key functions, its political dynamics, and how these have changed since 1999. Crucially it analyses the impact of the Lords on government policy and legislation, and on the wider culture of British politics, under Labour 1999-2010 and the coalition 2010-13. The book demonstrates that the Lords is more modern, and significantly more influential, than many might assume. The 1999 reform ended Conser ... More
This book is the first major study of the House of Lords since the reform in 1999 by Tony Blair's Labour government which removed most hereditary peers. It describes the membership of the chamber, its key functions, its political dynamics, and how these have changed since 1999. Crucially it analyses the impact of the Lords on government policy and legislation, and on the wider culture of British politics, under Labour 1999-2010 and the coalition 2010-13. The book demonstrates that the Lords is more modern, and significantly more influential, than many might assume. The 1999 reform ended Conservative domination of the chamber, leaving a body in which no party has a majority, and where the Liberal Democrats and Crossbench independents hold the balance of power. This requires the government to negotiate with the Lords over policy, and results in regular government defeats. The book argues that the now stronger House of Lords has strengthened parliament as a whole in British politics, and thus eroded executive power at Westminster. But the Lords - as an unelected institution - remains controversial, and the book also explores questions about its 'legitimacy', and options for its reform. In addition, it includes chapters on the history of the chamber pre-1999, and on bicameralism internationally, which place the contemporary House of Lords in its historical and comparative context.
Keywords:
House of Lords,
Westminster,
parliament,
government,
bicameralism,
policy,
legislation,
reform,
Liberal Democrats,
legitimacy
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2013 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199671564 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2013 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199671564.001.0001 |
