House of Lords Reform: Commentaries

Principal Investigators: Robert Hazell, Meg Russell and others

Since its establishment, the Constitution Unit has been well-respected for its interventions on the subject of House of Lords reform. During this time the government has pursued many initiatives on the subject, including a bill in 1999, five White Papers, establishment of a Royal Commission and two parliamentary joint committees. The Unit has done several large-scale research projects in this area (listed on separate pages on this website) but has also contributed frequently to general debate on Lords reform through publication of occasional briefings, often in response to government initiatives. These papers are listed here.

Readers interested in House of Lords reform should also check the pages for our past project on lessons from overseas, and our current project on the working of the contemporary House of Lords.

Publications:

• Reform of the House of Lords by Nicole Smith
• Reforming the Lords: A step by step guide by Robert Hazell and Ben Seyd
• Rebalancing the Lords: The Numbers by Ben Seyd
• Reforming the Lords: the Role of the Bishops by Janet Lewis-Jones
• Reforming the Lords: the Role of the Law Lords by Richard Cornes
• Second Chambers as Constitutional Guardians and Protectors of Human Rights by Meg Russell and Aisling Reidy
• A Transitional House of Lords: the Numbers by Ben Seyd
• The House of Lords: In Defence of Human Rights by Aisling Reidy
• Commentary on the Wakeham Report on Reform of the House of Lords by Meg Russell and Robert Hazell
• The Future of the House of Lords: Conference Papers
• Wakeham in the Long Grass: Can The Lords Guard Democracy? Constitution Unit Lecture by Lord Alexander of Weedon
• Commentary on the White Paper: The House of Lords-Completing the Reform by Robert Hazell
• Next Steps in Lords Reform: Response to the September 2003 White Paper by Meg Russell and Robert Hazell
• Reforming the House of Lords: Breaking the Deadlock by Paul Tyler MP et al