Reasons to be here

[smokingboot]

It's unfashionable to say it but those old mad farts in the House of Lords have done us proud.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1517366,00.html

I take my hat off to them.

Comments

[november-girl.livejournal.com]

It's the Lords doing exactly what they are meant to be there to do - tempter the government's excesses by applying some good sense.

Shot of the day goes to "It is sometimes felt that our executive and, dare I say, our Prime Minister do not treat Parliament with any seriousness." Woo hoo!

[thomryng.livejournal.com]

I can only hope that somebody in the US Congress takes note. Our Senators and Representatives have a strong tendency to cave in to Bush & Co. at the very mention of the word "terror".

They are, in fact, terrified, but of our own executive.

[larians.livejournal.com]

The joy of the house of Lords is that they don't have to worry about being re-elected, so they can make a stand on a matter of principle and there is very little that Parliament can do about it unless they are prepared to over rule them with the paliament act, but that takes the best part of a year.

Thus we have the marvellous situation that the Prime Ministers mentor and former Lord Chancellor voting against the government five times.

God help us if the make the upper chamber elected, there will be nothing to stop a government with majorities in both houses.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

The most terrifying thing to approach the House of Lords is a modern haircut. They all seem to suffer from advanced stages of wildly eccentric, often defecting hair. Academics tend towards a less severe version of this.

I am used to considering the House of Lords as a ridiculous anachronism with no place in a modern democracy. But democracy without education is as bad as any other tyrant, and God knows, we despise teachers in this country. In a time of non-thought and hysteria to the point of injustice, I am very relieved at the work the Lords have done.