Britain poised to axe House of Lords - Polidicks

[quote]BRITAIN'S House of Lords could be abolished and replaced with an upper house full of elected politicians under plans being considered by the UK Government. The 700-year-old House of Lords has about 740 members, none of whom are elected. Most obtained their upper house seat in parliament upon an appointment by the Queen on the recommendation of the prime minister or an appointments committee. Others simply inherited the right to sit in the Lords thanks to their ancestors. But Justice Secretary Jack Straw has begun consulting his cabinet colleagues about making revolutionary changes to the upper house that would end centuries of tradition. Mr Straw is considering plans for a directly elected second chamber, in a similar way to how senators are elected to the upper houses in Australia and the United States. A proportional representation system would be used, with one third of the chamber being elected at a time. Members would serve three terms, or up to 15 years and the upper house would be renamed The Senate. The plans are expected to be unveiled before Britons go to the polls for a general election, widely expected in early May. "Jack has been working very hard on this issue, and we will have some proposals soon which we think will be very significant," a source close to Mr Straw told Britain's Sunday Telegraph. "They will reflect a degree of consensus about the need for reform." The only major change to the House of Lords made by Labour since it came to power in 1997 was to remove most hereditary peers in 1999. Ninety-two hereditary peers remain in the upper house, but all would lose their seats under Mr Straw's planned changes. MPs in the House of Commons also voted in 2007 to reform the upper house so it could become an elected chamber. However, the Lords themselves blocked the move, preferring a fully appointed assembly.[/quote] [url=http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/britain-poised-to-axe-house-of-lords/story-e6frfku0-1225840650606]Source[/url] Bugger.

Hahaha, they had it coming.

It's about bloody time.

Awesome. :buddy:

Yes! Hang on I cant see any other news of this on the BBC or anything, got more sources?

Whoopee - although I hope it doesn't turn the UK into the same morass the legislature is in the US.

Its not like the house of commons can't veto any of their ideas anyway. For the most part, at least. [editline]12:05PM[/editline] They are a bit like the special kids, you make them think they can do something, but really, they can't.

Awesome.

Thank fuck.

UK Source [url]http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20100314/tuk-labour-plans-to-abolish-house-of-lor-dba1618.html[/url] Although i wonder if they have to put the plans through the house of lords? Could meet with some resistance.

Bout time.

To everyone saying "good": It's really, really not. The House of Lords often end up blocking parliament's more idiotic/extreme proposals, and as such, are a pain in the backside for the current government. This strikes me as less of a "let's all be more democratic" move, and more a "let's get rid of this group who are in our way, and replace with our friends" move.

[QUOTE=Askaris;20739893]To everyone saying "good": It's really, really not. The House of Lords often end up blocking parliament's more idiotic/extreme proposals, and as such, are a pain in the backside for the current government. This strikes me as less of a "let's all be more democratic" move, and more a "let's get rid of this group who are in our way, and replace with our friends" move.[/QUOTE] this.

This is a really bad idea, the house of lords is there to keep check of the house of commons, and to stop the government putting through retarded laws.

My mums, friends, dad is in the House of Lords. He buys me chocolate from their shop mmmmmmmmmmm so good.

Positively spiffing news!

The House of Lords is just a bunch of rich idiots, good.

Watch them try and drag this out for as long as possible

My last statement was fairly ignorant, this is a bad idea.

I'm going to agree with the people who are saying this is a bad idea. Parliament was created to keep the monarchy and the aristocracy in check, due to it's power being too great. Now it seems that it is starting to shift in the other direction, with parliament trying to take more power. Neither should have full power, with best option being a balance between the two.

This thread is filled with ignorence

Do it, I want my democracy

To those saying that the House of Lords stop parliament passing stupid shit, I'm afraid you're wrong. The House of Lords can only reject something three times before it's automatically passed above them and on to the Queen. This is why the House of Lords is completely useless.

This isn't a good thing.

I have no idea what this means.

I'd be happy, but despite some of the Lords being absolute tards, the rest are actually fairly sensible, much more so than commons.

It means that the House of Commons can pass ridiculous laws easier. i,e. Peter Mandelson.

[QUOTE=Askaris;20739893]To everyone saying "good": It's really, really not. The House of Lords often end up blocking parliament's more idiotic/extreme proposals, and as such, are a pain in the backside for the current government. This strikes me as less of a "let's all be more democratic" move, and more a "let's get rid of this group who are in our way, and replace with our friends" move.[/QUOTE] Block? Since the Parliament act in 1911(?) the HL have hardly blocked anything from going through cause the government pretty much destroyed their power to do so. The blocked the extension on the detention times for terrorists, which yerh it a good thing, but they also tried to block the fox hunting bill from getting through. You think thats an idiotic/extreme proposal? Its populated with some hereditary peers who simply get in there by the virtue of their birth, and other assorted out of touch toffs. Their not a pain in the backside really. The most they generally do is send a bill back to the HC with a couple of changes and amendments suggested. Replacing a useless Quango with a democratically elected organisation is never a bad thing.

this isn't really good at all

[QUOTE=A.C.I.D;20740481]Block? The blocked the extension on the detention times for terrorists, which yerh it a good thing, but they also tried to block the fox hunting bill from getting through. You think thats an idiotic/extreme proposal? [/QUOTE] Would allowing a hobby be something horrible? I think not. Some butthurt PETA girls going mad over something that millions of cows and pigs suffer every month though.