Ways For Reforming Parliament Essay, Research Paper

Parliament

is where the British person?s will is expressed, and where the temper,

direction and course of our country is set. Parliament is the core of political

accountability in Britain. If Parliament is to carry out these functions it go

along with the people of Britain. In recent years both the integrity and

authority of Parliament have been questioned. Parliament has taken steps to

respond to this challenge to its role and performance. The government is a

stronger supporter of these changes. ????????? To modernise Parliament the government

has made various proposals. The government is putting forward new proposals for

a transitional House of Lords following the passage of legislation. The

government will appoint a Royal Commission to make recommendations for

wide-ranging reform of the House of Lords. The Government believes a

step-by-step approach is need. But at the same time, it is a radical approach

one which, taken as a whole, will mark a fundamental transformation of a key

part of the central democratic institution of Parliament. ????????? The government is proposing a

far-reaching examination of the long-term future of the House of Lords

following the removal of the hereditary peers. While that review is taking

place, and until longer-term change is implemented, the ending of the right of

hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords will change the composition and

complexion of the House of Lords. Such a radical change will in itself amount

to a marked improvement of the House, removing much of the cause of its deficit

in both effectiveness and balance. But the reform will also create the need for

a revised, transitional House. ????????? The Government?s proposals for a

transitional House will circumscribe it. For the transitional House, the

Government will ensure that no one political party commands a majority in the

Lords. The Government presently plans to seek only broad parity with the

Conservatives. It will: . 1) Maintain the

cross-bench representation at around its present proportion of life peers. 2) Establish an independent Appointments Commission to

recommend non-political appointments and vet all nominations of individuals to

sit in the House of Lords. 3)

Forward to the Queen without interference the agreed number of recommendations

of the other party leaders and the Commission. Gregory

GeismarIn

the House of Commons, a significant programme to modernise the procedures has

already been agreed. This has been included changes to strengthen the scrutiny

of European legislation. The Independent Commission on the voting system has

reported, and its report has already been subject to debate in the Commons. ????????? The Government believes that in

Britain, like other large mature democracies, needs a two-chamber legislature.

While other major democracies show a wide range of variation in how they form

their second chambers, a second chamber is a feature of almost all of them. But

the second chamber must have a distinctive role and must neither usurp, nor

threaten, the supremacy of the first chamber. ????????? The most distinctive and important

role of the present House of Lords is the specialist expertise and independent

perspective it can bring to the scrutiny of legislation. But the House of Lords

and work it carries out suffer from its lack of legitimacy, because the

presence of hereditary peers creates a permanent, inbuilt majority for a single

party. For its functions to be properly performed, the House of Lords need a

degree of legitimacy, which it does not now enjoy. This limits the extent to

which it can make a proper contribution as a second parliamentary chamber. The

out of date (anachronistic) and unrepresentative nature of its own composition

is at the root of this deficiency. ????????? Institutions need to change if they

are properly to reflect and serve the society, which supports them.

Institutions of government in particular need constantly to be examined for

their continuing responsiveness to changing circumstances, to ensure that they

fully carry out the functions they are designed to fulfil. ????????? The Government wants to see the House

of Lords as a modern, fit and effective second chamber of Parliament for the 21st

century. The removal of purely hereditary basis of the majority of the House

anomalous, unrepresentative and insupportable will be a radical step in itself.

The Royal Commission can mean a longer-term examination and can make

recommendations for the Government to consider. A fully reformed second chamber

can have a vital role in the renewed democracy of Britain. Along with the Government?s own ideas of reforming

Parliament, groups such as RADAR have their own ideas for reforming the House

of Lords. They would like to see disabled people included in the Government?s

proposal for a new second chamber. They want the 8.6 million disabled people

represented; many major national newspapers have welcomed this. Uganda has a mechanism written into its constitution to

ensure at least one disabled delegate represents the country?s disability

organisations.