Committee (House of Commons)




Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee Announcement



21 January 2013

For Immediate Release:



Committee announces new inquiry – House of Lords reform: what next?



The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee has decided to conduct an inquiry into what smaller-scale changes to the membership and structure of the House of Lords would be likely to command a consensus. The Committee is issuing a call for written evidence that addresses some or all of the following points:

• The desirability, practicality and effectiveness of mechanisms for reducing the size of the House of Lords, including the following:

 no longer replacing hereditary peers in the House of Lords when they die;

 measures to remove persistent non-attendees;

 a moratorium on new peers;

 fixed-term appointments for new peers;

 a retirement age for peers.



• The effectiveness of the current voluntary retirement scheme for peers introduced following the recommendations of the Leader’s Group on Members Leaving the House.

• The desirability and scope of a mechanism to expel peers who have been convicted of a serious offence.

• The desirability, composition and remit of a Statutory Appointments Commission.

• The scope for establishing a consensus about the principles which should determine the relative numerical strengths of the different party groups in the House of Lords, and for codifying such principles.





How to respond:



The deadline for written submissions is Tuesday 26 March 2013. Submissions should not significantly exceed 3,000 words unless this has been cleared in advance with the Committee secretariat. Written responses to the Committee will usually be treated as evidence to the Committee and may be published. If you object to your response being made public in a volume of evidence, please make this clear when it is submitted.



Responses should be submitted by email in Microsoft Word or rich text format to pcrc@parliament.uk



If you do not have access to email, you may send a paper copy of your response to the Clerk of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Committee Office, First Floor, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA.



FURTHER INFORMATION:



Committee Membership is as follows: Mr Graham Allen (Chair) (Nottingham North), Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch), Paul Flynn (Newport West), Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East), Mr Andrew Griffiths (Burton), Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East), Simon Hart (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire), Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central), Mrs Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest), Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) and Stephen Williams (Bristol West).



Specific Committee Information: pcrc@parliament.uk 020 7219 6287

Media Information: Jessica Bridges-Palmer bridgespalmerj@parliament.uk 07917 488 447

Committee Website: www.parliament.uk/pcrc

Watch committees and parliamentary debates online: www.parliamentlive.tv

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House of Lords Reform: Where next

3/2/12

I am minded that tomorrow in the CofE diocesan cathedral of my birth Justin Welby (rt Rev Bishop of Durham) is to be legally inducted as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Much is made of the House of Lords having bishops of the C of E ex officio as the 26 ‘double jury’ on the basis of seniority in the post (longest term served) as the basis of the original 1215 Magna Carta reform that sought to change from Saxon gradated aristocratic witans into the House of Lords and Commons of the modern age, with an one intermediary tri chamber parliament of the house of bishops. This is the modern day inspiration for the tri chamber General Synod of the two ‘home provinces’ of the Church of England.

However in state there are two chambers of Parliament. The idea behind that is that so long as people raise the next generation well and ideally as part of the Church of England or one of its recognised denominations or faiths that advise the crown, the common ideals of tolerance are maintained. Hence the idea of the Heir to the Throne to defend faiths and none as well as being the FD title of Henry VIII.

These are only allegorical as the Tudor reforms put due process and the removal of harsh punishments from the united English and Welsh legal systems, now operating into similarly compassionate separate jurisdictions, similar to other Commonwealth jurisdictions.

Now, since 1829 for previous and current abilities and achievements, faith leaders of other churches and faiths sit in the chamber and can offer advice, especially with the end of the death penalty and compassion with legal support. This is based on the ideals of faith tolerance started in the Parliamentary Republic of Oliver Cromwell.

This is regarded as Ken Clarke’s compassionate time as Home Secretary through to tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.

As such the United Kingdom has faith within its ‘senate’ and the question should be, should this continue or not? I would argue that as under the laws of state, non faith organisations exist such as Richard Dawkins and the National Secularist association, have patrons from the Royal Family. As such all should within the ex officio component, similar to the hereditaries under a Government of Britain Bill with a codified constitution passed similar to the European Human Rights Act 1999, as amended and with a right of secession for the territories of Scotland, Wales and the six counties of Northern Ireland by develoution enabling leglislation, subsequent developments and Westminster devolved standing orders.

This should be approved by referendum after a constitutional convention as part of resolving the following issues:

Turning to the hereditaries, in the realism agenda they should be kept in the interim. IN an Age of austerity it is better that they keep their peerages linked to the crown and in an age of austerity this aids those with ability to make wealth to do so lawfully.

This requires proper parliamentary guidelines and company law to include the tax havens and financial instruments such as LIBOR regulated up to Treasury standards for the inflation target. This should be codified into the laws of the Commonwealth and IMF / World Bank to ensure that all play fair and can be held to account to deal with the threats of piracy and smuggling.

James A. Ware

The 8th February conference @ Prifysgol Aberystwyth,




Question topics to ask and research?

1872-2006/7 Prifysgol Cymru Aberystwyth an obituary

James Ware

1) Historical problems of Ceredigion since the nineteenth century fires and fences

a. When there wasn’t proper regulation and why were the Tories Blamed? Loss of key personnel in the Boer War and in Conquering Zimbabwe by Cecil Rhodes.

2) Problems from the protectionist era and trade and stock slips on the smallholdings and aristocracy alike, the exploitation of this by disestablishment as neither could sustain the economy post world war one slaughter in the somme and paschendelle?

3) Post world war II housing in a nineteenth century town surrounded by marshland, the gas bubble from first attempts at ‘Fracking’ near Holy Trinity and excavation of the First National Library of Wales (Welsh Books Council) as well as flood waters from streams to the North of town?

4) Power from the Rheidol Valley and underground control of the water supply into the Rheidol to protect the upper valley, stabilising of all property and reduction of flood damage, but still not coordination of fence repairs to allow gradual drainage after high rainfall.

5) Draining the marsh and building the Rheidol Levees

6) To many pubs in Aberystwyth owing to each church having a social club.

7) Impact on these on property buying by students who wanted to build up equity for future housing, resulting in the equality based motion of housing all first years in university housing so that all end up on the same housing benefit after uni unless aided by their home citizens advice?

a. Does that mean that then federal university claimed its own grants to maintain housing prior to the seafront fire and hall reconstruction

b. Did this delay investment in the rail sector with passing loops and the now one hour frequency aim for Aberystwyth-Birmingham

8) Devolution and Democratic accountability for coastal erosion and flood defence priorities.

9) The Diamond Jubillee grants for community provision for Rural renewal, does this mean that a new route Aber-Lampeter-Carmarthen line gets built according to question in the Welsh Assembly by the duly elected constituency member?

at this time of year my mind turns to the seafront fire of 1998 when i was fresher at Aberystwyth.

Since then the halls have all bee n refurbished and better alarmed under a private company like the hotels and care homes.

However these seafronts also have nineteenth century buildings or HMOs which have large numbers of residents unable ot maintain both the insurance premium and the day to day maintenance unless they are under housing association or local authority / county council ownership where differring laws of tenancy apply.

As such a housing assn is needed for teh Town council to use WDA grants to buy the less repaired housing such as South Marine Terrace and turn it inot postgrad housing at better maintained standards, after all its what the Polish builders did for Acton and Ealing in London.

This requires a civil contingencies map and assessment as done during teh second world war in london after each nights blitz or doodlebug damage and displayed on the uni website like the walking speed and pacing initiative of a few years back in conjunction with the environment agency. The person there to contact is Cedric Moon.

Then teh College can finally sort out teh basement of its old college building (probably the location of Neil Hamiltons and my exam papers).

Missing girl in Machynlleth




THis is left to the experts not becasue some sicko might joke theat the welsh are sheep shaggers but because the area is exceptionally tidal and in need of thorough searching safely as well as highly hilly. Please find her safely and help her family.



James Ware

The problems with the concept of Israeli reunification (ie annexation of Palestine)




1) Many Kibbutzs (settlements) are still on post 1967 occupied territory in the West Bank and are at peace with their Palestinian neighbours under quasi legal status (technically illegal but interdependent with their neighbours.

2) If any remain within the West Bank or the border is redrawn under international agr...eement. I suggest Desmond Tutu could work with Blair on this one or allow a Third world figure or someone with IMF experience to ensure that it is not former crusader kingdom centric world view.

3) This would require a Paelestinian state that respects all faith minorities in it s legislative assembly, similar to Israel and the Senates of many Commonwealth countries)

4) Psalm 23 when used by warriors is bollocks, there are better passages that suggest peaceful reconciliation. Let there be no Massadas like in AD70 when the Romans tried to drive people out by force and the settlements were either slaugfhtered in the Kidron or committed suicide within their fortresses. It is the first holocaust in my opinion.

5) As such the best option is to agree a peace conference and call a ceasefire in Syria

6) There needs to be regional mutual defence pact including Israel and Iran co-operating with each other on complete nuclear disarmament and civilian fuel production for civilian reactors, both under international auspices to ensure that no side or future state such as Iraq or Saudi can cheat and supply weapons (in case a member of the Bin Laden family or Wahibbi wants to get their own back for Osama Bin ladens assassination.

7) Golan would be the pacts home base and training centre as its status would otherwise be too contentious in international peace talks regarding ending the civil war in Syria.

Asthe non aligned worldcallsforthe removalofweapons and Irand to behave itself by not denying teh holocaust and Syria to seek peace,the question toaskis what next for Israel and Palestine,can teh status of Jeruslamen and Bethlehem and Ramallah be reconciled as part ofthe two state solution as the common capitalarea,like the multiplediocese Greater LondonAuthority.

If my terminology teh tri city area is tooprovocataive inthe eyes of Americans beacause it remembers New York and 9/11then other terms might be:

Episcopal city ( with faith input through an interfiath christian councilmaking representations toteh cttes and municpal capital authority,similar to Churhces together or the ArchbishopsCouncil)

Greater Jerusalem Area

Tri city metropolis

Metropolitan area (too fixed towards one form of church and might be viewed with suspicionby the chief imman of teh Domeofteh Rockand the Rabbis alike)

Hence any form of capital region needs clear written constitution and democratic elections and teh ability to call evidence from all faith communities).

Rail electrification is good news, cascaded diesel rolling stock of 125 mph capability from Midand and Fgreat western, nice! A few plug doors a la chiltern and they could make Northern Scotland and Wales services better.




Further the shuttle rolling stock for services to the SWest / Cornwall and from Swansea to Pembrokeshire and possibly Lampeter or in teh future for a reinstated and improved 'Offas Dyke' service should help the borders.



Also if more Pendolinos are vbought for teh East Coast as a proven design that works on teh West Coast, cascaded 125s can go elsewhere such as Anglia or Mid Wales services.



Nice day all round railwise.