Reimagining the Law 5 June 2020

A Quintet of Parliamentary Reforms

1. House of Lords Reform (Removal of Hereditary Privilege) Act

An Act to amend the House of Lords Act 1999 by ending the by-elections which allow 90 hereditary peers in the House of Lords to be replaced, on death or retirement, by other hereditary peers.

2. House of Lords (Removal of Clerical Privilege) Act

An Act to end the entitlement of 26 Church of England Bishops to sit in the House of Lords.

3. House of Lords (Cross-Bench Appointments) Act

An Act creating an independent Commission to appoint cross-bench members to the House of Lords for single 15-year fixed terms. Hereditary peers and religious leaders would of course be welcome to apply.

4. Referendums (Parliament and People) (Avoidance of Loggerheads) Act

An act to require that a proposed constitutional change may be the subject of a referendum only if each House of Parliament (or as the case may be, the relevant devolved legislature) has first passed a motion approving that change.

5. Prorogation (Parliamentary Consent) Act

An Act to require the consent of each House of Parliament before an Order in Council proroguing Parliament may be given effect.

David Anderson (Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE QC)