On June 27, the British government introduced its bill into Parliament to transform the House of Lords into a mostly-elected body. The name of the body might or might not eventually be changed, perhaps to the Senate. See this story for the details. The first elections would be in 2015. No one can predict whether or not the bill will pass. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
Paper Issues
- September 2012 Issue
- August 2012 Issue
- July 2012 Issue
- June 2012 Issue
- May 2012 Issue
- previous issues here
- The October 2012 Issue will be posted by October 31.
But don't wait.
Get the latest issue of Ballot Access News in your mailbox –
Subscribe.
Blog Archives
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
Contact Richard Winger:
P.O. Box 470296,
San Francisco, CA 94147
richardwinger@yahoo.com
(415) 922-9779
Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal
Subscriptions are $15 for 12 issues a year ($20 foreign). Additional
donations are welcome.
Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal.
credit card to pay via PayPal, use this button.
Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal.
credit card to pay via PayPal, use this button.
Ballot Access News 
Changes like these are way overdue so it can be rationalized that being an accomplice to gerrymandering for the conservatives is an acceptable price, I mean their constituentcies don’t even have the same number of people in them anyway–it’s already real bad.
The single 15-year elected term for upper housers sounds interesting. Nick Clegg should get SOMETHING for these five years.
What is the point of electing peers (or a vast majority of them) if they have no additional authority? If the plan is to make it more like a senate then do so. This is just nonsense.
The House of Lords belongs in the dustbin of history, along with the monarchy.
#1 The permitted variation in constituency size for the Commons has been reduced to 5%. This is somewhat favorable to the Conservatives since constituencies were smaller outside of England, but surely this can not be regarded as gerrymandering.
#2 What makes little sense is to have two bodies of comparable size who are elected on the same basis and have essentially the same powers.
Like we have in the US?
The whole purpose of the house of lords is to provide a house that is inherently stable as opposed to the continuously changing house of commons. To allow elections in the house of lords would be to destroy its purpose entirely, if anything they should go back to allowing more hereditary peers to be seated rather than having two fully elected houses.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
How many national regimes have a national P.R. legislative body (even if it is the super-dangerous parliamentary form – same folks have both legislative and executive powers) ???
Hmmm. Perhaps Israel – THE outpost for REAL Democracy in the EVIL Middle East area filled with killer monarchs
/ oligarchs.
—–
Many of the old time killer Lords killed each other off in the late 1400s — War of the Roses [Red-White Lords killer gangs].
Result – the rise of the House of Commons — with the English Civil WAR in 1642-1649 between the Commons and the King/Lords
— with King Charles I being captured and convicted as a traitor and having his head chopped off in 1649 — a total shock to the EVIL monarchs in Europe
— setting the stage for the later 1776 American Revolution, the 1789 French Revolution and later revolutions in Europe and elsewhere.
The 6,000 plus years WAR for REAL Democracy goes on and on.
See the EVIL ANTI-Democracy gerrymander systems in the U.S.A. Constitution and in all 50 State constitutions.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2012-2013/0052/cbill_2012-20130052_en_1.htm
House of Commons Bill 52
—
Secs. 3-5 and Schedules 2 and 3 – Party List P.R.
—–
Machinations coming —
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18631301
Major P-O-W-E-R struggle between the good forces of Democracy and the EVIL forces of monarchy/oligarchy.
#6 The US House is over 4 times the size of the US Senate, and the electorates are not exactly comparable.
On the other extreme are States like Washington, where each legislative district elect one Senator and two Representatives. It is unrealistic to expect those elected to represent much political diversity, except in districts with a close partisan divide.
Electing a unicameral legislature from three times as many districts would produce more diversity and would be more efficient.
In the US civil unions between humans and sheep are more thinkable than a unicameral legislature-at least outside Nebraska.