In 1930 Iceland celebrated the thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Althing, the body which now serves as Iceland’s national political and legislative assembly. The King and Queen (of Denmark, and of Iceland) were there, with delegations from all over the world. Britain sent the brand new battleship HMS Rodney with the conservative peer… Continue reading Is Iceland’s Althing the Oldest Parliament in the world?→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
In the recent debates over the report of the Standards and Privileges committee on the Owen Paterson case frequent reference has been made to the House of Commons’ foundational resolution of 2 May 1695 on lobbying. The resolution runs as follows: That the Offer of any Money, or other Advantage, to any Member of Parliament,… Continue reading Paid advocacy in the House of Commons and the Resolution of 2 May 1695→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
It often puzzles people that accusing someone of lying in parliament seems to be taken more seriously than actually lying – at least that there is some consequence. The member who has made the accusation is called on to withdraw, or rephrase, the allegation; whereas it is rare that anything is done to reprove the… Continue reading Lies, Personalities and Unparliamentary Expressions→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
The opening of the second Impeachment trial of President Trump in the Senate today marks a new stage in the history of a procedure whose origins lie in medieval England.… Continue reading Impeachment II→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
Bellamy's, the refreshment rooms in the pre-1834 Palace of Westminster, occupied a distinctive place in the late Georgian and early Victorian political world, a place where different worlds collided. … Continue reading Bellamy’s→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
Queen's consent - to be distinguished from Royal Assent - is one of the most obscure little pieces of parliamentary flummery. Its origin has been traced back to 1729: but it must be older than that.… Continue reading Queen’s Consent and the Missing Link→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
The smoking room of the House of Commons has long intrigued commentators on and spectators of politics: one of the places where knots of members get together to weigh reputations, exchange gossip, spread discontent, foment revolts, hatch conspiracies.… Continue reading The Smoking Room of the House of Commons→| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
The third of a series of blogs on parliamentary privilege and libel, this one deals with the notorious case of Stockdale v. Hansard| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
This is a series of three blogs about Parliament and Libel. The first, Privilege, Libel and the long road to Stockdale v. Hansard, Part I: from Strode’s Case to Article IX, dealt with the earliest …| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
In 1836 the House of Commons published a series of reports of the new prison inspectors appointed under an Act of Parliament passed the year before. Their shocked claim that a pornographic book had…| Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament
