On January 19, 1999, Tony Blair's government announced the most radical restructuring of the House of Lords, the UK's second chamber, in its 600-year existence. Honoring the Labour Party election manifesto, the Bill will remove all 759 hereditary peers, those with an automatic right to sit by virtue of birthright, within the year. In the meantime, a Royal Commission will formulate proposals for a...

The UK House of Commons Library recently released a research paper concerning the devolution of power to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales. This paper summarizes the main points of the devolution schemes, describing the reserved and devolved subject areas. It also explores the new roles of the Secretaries of States for Wales and Scotland and the concordats agreed between...

On January 19, 1999, Tony Blair's government announced the most radical restructuring of the House of Lords, the UK's second chamber, in its 600-year existence. Honoring the Labour Party election manifesto, the Bill will remove all 759 hereditary peers, those with an automatic right to sit by virtue of birthright, within the year. In the meantime, a Royal Commission will formulate proposals for a...

The UK House of Commons Library recently released this research paper concerning the devolution of power to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales. This paper explores the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, focusing on a related report from the Commons Procedure Committee which was debated in Parliament on October 21. The paper also discusses topics such as...