Monthly Archives: July 2010
Ministerial training
Jeff Randall at the Daily Telegraph has written an amusing article assessing the peformance of the pupils in what he calls ‘Cabinet College’. However, there is a serious aspect to study by ministers. Most have had no previous ministerial experience. I … Continue reading
Germany-bound
I leave at the beginning of next week to visit the University of Bamberg in Germany. It is a university with a distinguished history and is housed in a town that is a World Heritage site. I am speaking at … Continue reading
Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians
Every other year, wearing my hat as Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies at the University of Hull, I organise a Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians, designed – as the name suggests – to bring academics and practitioners together. … Continue reading
The name of Norton
I see someone reached this site earlier this week by typing in to the search engine: ‘What sort of surname is Norton’. I like to think the answer is ‘a rather fine one’. Norton as far as I am aware … Continue reading
Constitutional reform
On Wednesday, the Constitution Committee in the Lords took evidence on the Government’s constitutional reform programme. We had a panel of Peter Riddell, Professor Robert Hazell and Professor Robert Blackburn. It was extremely productive. We covered fixed-term Parliaments, the referendum on … Continue reading
Lots of maidens
We continue to have new peers introduced, most often now three at a time. The influx of new peers not only puts pressure on space (in the chamber and in office resources) it also means that we are having a large … Continue reading
Hull’s finest
As I mentioned in a previous post, I had to be in Hull last Wednesday for the summer graduation ceremony. After the ceremony, the Politics Department holds a reception in a marquee on the lawn by the Wilberforce Building, which houses … Continue reading
A new group
On Tuesday, I attended the inaugural meeting of an all-party group. This one was well attended! It is a new group on the constitution. I was elected as chair. The purpose of the group is to provide information on constitutional … Continue reading
