Monthly Archives: June 2014
Summer of writing
I usually have a number of publications forthcoming. At the moment, I only have two: a chapter on ‘Continuity and Change in Parliamentarianism in the Twenty-first Century’ for the Routledge Handbook of European Politics and a chapter on the oratory … Continue reading
Debating Lords reform
For those interesting in watching Thursday’s debate on the report of the Labour Peers Working Group on Reform of the House of Lords, the first three hours of the debate can be seen here. My own contribution comes at just … Continue reading
Tempting fate
I usually wait until I can confirm something before writing about it, rather than anticipating it – just in case it doesn’t happen. I should have realised I was tempting fate by concluding my last post by saying my final … Continue reading
Different hats….
I hold several positions, with the result that I often find I have a fairly full diary as a result of working to fulfil them. Yesterday was a day for rushing around as a result of wearing several hats. In the morning … Continue reading
Over here, Your Majesty….
For the State Opening of Parliament, the chamber of the House of Lords is completely reconfigured. The Table is removed, a boxed seating area for the Diplomatic Corps created, and the bar of the House brought forward to create more … Continue reading
A short contribution….
Wednesday was the fourth and final day of debate on the Queen’s Speech. Even with four days, the number of subjects drawn together for each day meant that the contributions in each ranged rather widely. Wednesday’s debate, for example, covered … Continue reading
May competition… and the winner is
The latest caption competition produced some excellent entries. The problem for me has been choosing between them. I was impressed by how observant many readers were. Some based their entries on the fact that I appeared to be clenching my … Continue reading
The Norton View 