19/02/2011
Peter Riddell speaks to Lord Mackay and Lord Falconer, two former Lord Chancellors, about changes in the House of Lords since the formation of the current government.
Peter Riddell looks behing the scenes at Westminster.
The marathon battles in the House of Lords have come to end and there will now be a referendum on changing the voting system on May 5th.
Two former Lord Chancellors, Lords Mackay and Falconer, have been very engaged in the debates of the past weeks, and here they consider what changes have come about in the Lords since the formation of the coalition government.
The campaign on the AV voting system has now begun in earnest, but how much does the general public know about it, and what can we expect from the campaign?
Anthony Wells of the UK Polling Report, and Neil O'Brien of the think tank Policy Exchange, look at the situation so far.
There was more disquiet in the House of Commons this week over the European Court of Human Rights ruling on the register of sex offenders. David Cameron promised a commission to look into a British Bill of Rights. Chris Bryant Labour and Bernard Jenkin Conservative consider the proposal.
Neal Lawson of the left of centre campaign group Compass is changing its membership rules to allow Liberal Democrats to join. He and Julian Astle of the Liberal Democrat think tank CentreForum talk about how British politics is adapting to coalition politics.
The editor was Marie Jessel.
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Chapters
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Coalition's effect on the Lords
After the lengthy passage of the Parliamentary Voting System & Constituencies Bill, we ask Lord Falconer and Lord Mackay what effect the coalition agreement has had on the conventions of the Lords.
Duration: 08:26
The AV Referendum
The passage of the AV bill means the campaigns now start in earnest. Anthony Wells of UK Polling Report and Neil O'Brien, of the Policy Exchange think tank, discuss the prospects for the referendum.
Duration: 05:09
The European Court of Human Rights
Amid a backlash in Parliament over court rulings on prisoners’ and sex offenders’ rights, Conservative Bernard Jenkin and Labour's Chris Bryant discuss the PM’s idea for a British Bill of Rights.
Duration: 07:36
Centre-left alliances
Neal Lawson wants to change the rules of his left-of-centre pressure group Compass so non-Labour members can join. We ask him and Julian Astle of CentreForum about possible new centre-left alliances.
Duration: 06:31
Broadcast
- Sat 19 Feb 2011 11:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 FM
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