The Constitution Unit

A Primer on Reform of the House of Lords

Episode Summary

This week we’re looking at the House of Lords. What does it do? And how, if at all, should it be reformed?

Episode Notes

Proposals for reform of the UK’s House of Lords are in the news. In the wake of a report by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Labour leader and – if the polls are to be believed – likely future Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he would abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a so-called Assembly of the Nations and Regions. 

This week Alan Renwick is joined by Meg Russell, Director of the UCL Constitution Unit and Professor of British and Comparative Politics in the UCL Department of Political Science. Meg is the leading expert on the House of Lords and on second chambers more broadly, having conducted research on the subject for more than two decades.

Meg gives us a primer on the House of Lords and helps answer the questions: does it need reform? What is the best way of doing it?

Associated reading:

• The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived. Meg Russell
• The problem(s) of House of Lords appointments. Meg Russell