User:Haseler/Proposals

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For main article see: Lords Reform

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Contents 1 Allotment 1.1 Bodies, Roles, Membership & Selection 1.2 Procedures/Elections 1.3 Variants 1.4 Advantages 1.5 Disadvantages 1.6 See also 1.7 External links 2 Appointed House 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Bodies, Roles, Membership & Selection 2.3 Procedures/Elections 2.4 Variants 2.5 Advantages 2.6 Disadvantages 2.7 See also 2.8 External links 3 Democratically Appointed Lords 3.1 Bodies, roles, membership and selection 3.2 Procedures/Elections 3.3 Variants 3.4 Advantages 3.5 Disadvantages 3.6 See also 3.7 External links 4 Elected House of Lords 4.1 Bodies, roles, membership and selection 4.2 Procedures/Elections 4.3 Variants 4.4 Advantages 4.5 Disadvantages 4.6 See also 4.7 External links 5 Part Part 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Bodies, Roles, Membership and Selection 5.3 Procedures/Elections 5.4 Variants 5.5 Advantages 5.6 Disadvantages 5.7 See also 5.8 External links 6 Indirect Appointments 6.1 Bodies, roles, membership and selection 6.2 Procedures/Elections 6.3 Variants 6.4 Advantages 6.5 Disadvantages 6.6 See also 6.7 External links 7 Stub 7.1 Bodies, roles, membership and selection 7.2 Procedures/Elections 7.3 Variants 7.4 Advantages 7.5 Disadvantages 7.6 See also 7.7 External links

[edit] Allotment

THis is a test!!

Under this heading are proposals to Reform the House of Lords by selecting the members of the upper house using allotment also known as sortition(random selection by open ballot)

[edit] Bodies, Roles, Membership & Selection

Commons

There will be no change to the main function or selection of the House of Commons. However, the committees in the Commons would be required to act as a quality control check on legislation as the Upper House would no longer carry out this function.

House of Lords

The present members of the House of Lords would be removed from office and replaced with a fixed number of perhaps 100 who are allotted.

The Upper House would no longer act as a revising chamber leaving this role to the committee system in the commons. Instead its prime role would be to ensure that the government carry out its manifesto promises and does not exceed its constitutional authority.

[edit] Procedures/Elections

The new members of the upper house would be chosen by allotment (open and random ballot) from all those eligiable to vote in UK elections and hold office for a fixed term. To ensure jurors do not try and avoid their service, they would receive very significant recompense so that there was no personal loss to most jurors. Juror's employment rights would be secured by statute, and provisions made to assist employers through agency staff and/or compensation.

The proceedings will be open to the public and televised.

[edit] Variants

1. To keep a much smaller Second chamber with a role limited to revision and quality control of legislation without any powers to hold back legislation.

[edit] Advantages

Proponents of this range of proposals base their concept of democracy on Athenian democracy which was mainly allotted. See Lords Lords Reform/The Meaning of Democracy as Applied to An Upper Chamber for information on the constrating views of democracy that have been used in submissions on Lords reform) Herodotus states the main advantage of allotment as isonomia (equality of political rights). In a modern context this is often used to infer a more demographically representative upper chamber which is statistically similar to the UK voting population.

[edit] Disadvantages

The present House of Lords has a large range of skills and draws on a lifetimes experience from ex politicians, civil servants who are mostly highly dedicated despite the low wages.

The role of this new body is ambiguous. E.g. would it or the commons have supremacy? These questions may result in conflict between the commons and this assembly.

[edit] See also

• Allotment

[edit] External links

[edit] Appointed House

[edit] Introduction

A Wholly Appointed assembly is a proposal to retain the present House of Lords.

[edit] Bodies, Roles, Membership & Selection

Commons

There will be no change to the main function or selection of the House of Commons.

House of Lords

The present members of the House of Lords would be remain in office, including the present Hereditary Lords.

[edit] Procedures/Elections

The Prime Minister and the independent Appointments panel would appoint members.

[edit] Variants

1. That the 92 Hereditary Peers are removed.

[edit] Advantages

The Upper House would retain its skills experience and longer term perspective. The Commons clearly retains its supremacy over the Upper house.

[edit] Disadvantages

It is not democratic.

[edit] See also

• Appointment

[edit] External links

[edit] Democratically Appointed Lords

This is a proposal by an organisation called Allot and a number of individuals. The proposal was to use a citizen's jury as an appointments panel to replace the Lords appointments panelto appoint the new Lords.

[edit] Bodies, roles, membership and selection

Commons

There will be no change to the House of Commons.

House of Lords

The present members of the House of Lords remain in position, though the remaining 92 Hereditary Lords could be removed. The powers of the House of Lords remain as at present. The number of Lords would be similar, but set by statute and each jury would be able to appoint up to this limit.

Lords Appointments Jury

The jury would act as an interview panel for prospective Lords. Like a normal jury professional advocates and a chair would support it in this role. The exact number of jurors is not critical to this proposal but might be 12 jurors with 3 reserves.

The Lords appointments Jury would be chosen by allotment (open and random ballot) from all those eligible to vote in UK elections. The jurors would take office for one year. To ensure jurors do not try and avoid their service, they would receive very significant recompense so that there was no personal loss to most jurors and indeed by being paid the equivalent of an MPs salary on top of their normal income, there would be a positive gain. Juror's employment rights would be secured by statute, and provisions made to assist employers through agency staff and/or compensation.

[edit] Procedures/Elections

Each year a new jury would be chosen with a number of reserves in case of illness or death.

Applications along with named proposers and seconders would be requested. Anyone would be able to apply and applications would be judged on an equal footing. However, given the nature of the work, one would expect each party leader to put forward their own candidates. Working with a permanent staff, the jury would sift the applications and invite candidates and their supporters to an interview. The candidate, proposer and seconder would be asked set questions by the professional staff, following which the jurors would be able to ask questions either directly or through the chair.

If a majority of the jury vote to accept the candidate, they would then become a new member of the Lords.

The proceedings will be open to the public and televised.

[edit] Variants

• Instead of one jury, each region in the UK has its own jury with a set number of seats in the House. The advantage is that jurors could sit closer to home and that there would be better regional representation. The disadvantages are that many prospective Lords may not have a regional affiliation and the cost of running the juries are likely to increase.

[edit] Advantages

This proposal keeps the skills, experience and longer-term perspective of the current House of Lords and makes the process of selection more democratic. By appointing the members using a jury which is literally democratic (juries were the predominant feature of Greek democracy) it creates a democratically legitimate revising chamber whilst avoiding the likely conflict when there are two house that are each democratically elected.

The cost is also low. It involves ordinary people in government in a way that should reconnect the politicians and ordinary people.

[edit] Disadvantages

[edit] See also

• Allotment

[edit] External links

[edit] Elected House of Lords

Proposals under this section cover those who wish to elect all members of the Lords and the elected element of a part-part house.

[edit] Bodies, roles, membership and selection

Commons

There will be no change to the House of Commons.

House of Lords

The powers of the House of Lords will remain as at present. The size of the chamber would be similar.

[edit] Procedures/Elections

All members would be re-elected at fixed intervals

[edit] Variants

• First Past the Post
• Proportional Representation

[edit] Advantages

By electing the House it will be more democratic.

[edit] Disadvantages

• The skills, experience, longer-term perspective and diversity of the present lords would be missed.
• There would be two conflicting mandates potentially causing conflict between the commons and Lords
• Voters already fail to turn out at elections. More elections may simply cheapen the idea of elections and result in even lower turnouts particularly for a body, which can't have its own agenda for change.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Part Part

[edit] Introduction

Proposals falling under this category combine elements from a fully elected and a Wholly appointed House and encompass the whole range of proposals under those categories. The main issue for a part elected, part appointed House is the percentage of Lords, which are elected, and those appointed.

According to Graham Allan MP at the time of the Consultation on reform of the House of Lords "an informal survey of Parliamentary Labour Party backbench opinion arrived at the figure of 58% elected, the conservative Party position is for 80%" and the following table shows the range of views in the PLL on this issue:

Preferred % of the elected element

Region	Replies	Average
London South	18	51%
London North	17	66%
Scotland	35	48%
Eastern	10	70%
North West (A)	13	68%
North West (T)	19	55%
South West	10	68%
Wales	21	66%
Northern	18	50%
West Midlands	29	51%
Yorkshire	22	55%
South East	10	64%
East Midlands	17	65%
Total	239	58%

[edit] Bodies, Roles, Membership and Selection

Commons

There will be no change to the House of Commons.

House of Lords

The powers of the House of Lords will remain as at present. The size of the chamber would be similar.

A large number of the present members of the House of Lords will not have a seat in the new house. The members that stay may be chosen by:

• An appointments panel
• Selected at random
• Elections may be held
• Some other method

[edit] Procedures/Elections

For procedures to appoint the Lords first see Lords reform - Wholly Appointed for discussion on the form of election first see Lords Reform - Democratically Elected

[edit] Variants

• The main issue is the exact proportion of elected and appointed.

[edit] Advantages

By introducing an elected element the House will be more democratic. By retaining some appointed Lords the House will retain some of the skills, experience and longer-term perspective of the current Lords.

[edit] Disadvantages

• One of the main advantages of the present Lords is the range of characters present. By severely restricting the numbers only the most high profile candidates will obtain a place and many of the less obvious candidates that give the Upper house its breath of knowledge will inevitably go.
• "As politicians we have enough difficulty encouraging people to come out and vote for 100% of the House of Commons" (Charlotte Atkins MP) By electing only a proportion of the House the voter interest will be much lessened and there is a serious risk that turn out for the Lords will be so low as to undermine its credibility.
• The two different classes of peers will inevitably conflict at times and will undermine each other’s legitimacy.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Indirect Appointments

A range of proposals favoured some kind of indirect appointment, many basing their proposals on the current method of appointment bishops of the Church of England.

"I believe that the second chamber should be wholly appointed from the various bodies and organisations from across the country which already represent society as a whole. These would include the various professional organisations, the charity and voluntary sector, business groups, the unions, the various churches, the public sector, local government, the unemployed, students etc. These organisations would elect their own representatives to this second chamber" (John Baron MP)

[edit] Bodies, roles, membership and selection

Commons

Unchanged

House of Lords

Unchanged

[edit] Procedures/Elections

[edit] Variants

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[edit] Advantages

[edit] Disadvantages

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Stub

This is a proposal by organisations such as ... to select the House of Lords using....

[edit] Bodies, roles, membership and selection

Commons

House of Lords

[edit] Procedures/Elections

[edit] Variants

[edit] Advantages

[edit] Disadvantages

[edit] See also

[edit] External links