Fate of "noble lords" divides coalition

LONDON (Reuters) - The ruling coalition faces its fiercest internal battle yet over arcane plans to give people a vote for the upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords, an issue that has vexed politicians for 100 years but leaves most voters unmoved.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, say reform of the roughly 800-seat upper chamber, which traces its roots back a millennium to Anglo-Saxon times, will strengthen British democracy.

But Cameron faces stiff resistance from within his own Conservative ranks that could weaken him and sour relations with Clegg, whose party is strongly in favour of move. The row has the potential to split or paralyse the coalition for a time, although few expect it to bring down the government altogether.

Polls suggest that most voters are broadly in favour of an elected upper house, as opposed to the present chamber largely appointed by party leaders according to their strength in the lower house. But it is very low on their priority list.

Yet for Lib Dems, who have seen their support collapse and some of their cherished goals elude them since they entered government for the first time in 2010, the Lords is profoundly undemocratic and reforming it is an article of faith.

Disavowed by many who voted for them two years ago only to see the junior party buckle to Conservative demands, Lib Dems see this as their chance to leave a lasting legacy.

"I just feel it's an absurd anachronism. I feel embarrassed when we in the Lords, after a good debate perhaps, can't carry the day because we have no mandate, we have no legitimacy," Paul Tyler, a Lib Dem who sits in the upper house with the title Lord Tyler of Linkinhorne, told Reuters on Monday.

During debates in their ornate red and gold chamber in the Palace of Westminster, peers address each other as "the noble lord", "the noble baroness" or, if they are from the same party, "my noble friend". Protocol requires that peers who are also bishops be addressed as "noble and right reverend lord" while some senior military commanders are "noble and gallant".

Such archaic conventions date back to past centuries when the chamber was made up of Lords Spiritual - bishops of the Church of England - and Lords Temporal, or aristocrats. They project a fusty image to many and today most Britons are barely aware of the work of the Lords.

But behind the pomp and ceremony a debate is raging.

"DUELING CHAMBERS"

Conservative rebels, including some cabinet ministers, say parliament will be bogged down for months in recondite arguments over constitutional arrangements when it should be spending its time on more urgent problems such as fixing the economy.

The Lords' power was largely removed in favour of the elected lower chamber, the House of Commons, in 1911 in a reform led by the Lib Dems' political forebears, the Liberals.

The peers in the Lords complement the work of the MPs in the Commons in making laws and holding the executive to account. But though they may revise legislation - and indeed are prized by many for their expertise - the Commons has the final say.

Opponents of the new reform plan say that electing the Lords would enhance the power of Britain's disciplined and powerful party machines, making the chamber less consensual and more partisan as well as more assertive, potentially challenging the primacy of the Commons and leading to parliamentary deadlock.

"We are in danger of seeing duelling chambers flaunting their rival democratic mandates," said Peter Hennessy, a journalist and historian who entered the Lords in 2010 as Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield. A "crossbench" peer, he has no party.

Matters are coming to a head because the government intends to put forward a bill on reform as part of the May 9 Queen's Speech, the annual ceremonial presentation by the monarch of the government's legislative programme for the coming year.

The aim is to pass the bill as quickly as possible so that the first elections to a reformed House of Lords can take place in 2015, when a general election to the Commons is also likely.

After months dissecting the government's draft plans for Lords reform, a joint committee of MPs and peers from all major parties published their recommendations on Monday.

The main ones were that 80 percent of peers should be elected, while 20 percent should be appointed and that the size of the House should be cut from over 800 to 450 members, who would each serve for one 15-year term.

But the committee chairman Ivor Richard, or Baron Richard of Ammanford, from the Labour party said it had been impossible for the 26 members to agree on some key elements of the proposed bill. This does not bode well for its passage through the 650-seat Commons and the even bigger Lords.

Describing the subject matter as "dense", Richard, a former MP and European Union commissioner, said he hoped that, should there be a need for another committee on Lords reform in future, "someone else would chair it".

After his official presentation, rival factions staged briefings in different corners of the labyrinthine Palace of Westminster, home to both houses of parliament on the banks of the Thames. As they set out their competing views, it offered a glimpse of the complex political manoeuvres lying ahead.

"INDUSTRIAL-SCALE PATRONAGE"

As things stand, Lords serve for life and most are appointed by parties, under a system Clegg has described as "industrial-scale political patronage". A seat in the Lords has long been seen as a reward for major party donors, retiring MPs or others with friends in high places.

The average age of peers is 69 and there are more who are over 90 years old than under 40. Only one in five is a woman and a disproportionately high number come from the affluent southeast of England.

The last major Lords reform, in 1999 under the Labour government of Tony Blair, got rid of hundreds of hereditary peers, scions of the old aristocracy, leaving a rump of 90 of them. The number of appointed peers has soared since then.

Blair created 162 Labour peers during his decade in office, while in two years as prime minister Cameron has already appointed 47 Conservatives to the upper house. At each occasion, prime ministers also appoint peers from other parties. Tyler said that if the system was left unchanged, it was only a matter of time before the number of Lords grew to over 1,000.

He said there was a lot of self-interest in the anti-reform camp, not only among Lords who were reluctant to vote themselves into extinction but also among MPs with their eye on a seat in the Lords later on in their careers.

But his opponents rejected that accusation, saying that while there was broad cross-party agreement on the need to reform the Lords, the current proposals were half-baked.

Said Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi: "The nation won't thank us for an ill thought-out reform."

(Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

barney frank barney frank rob gronkowski kim richards robert hegyes mary louise parker mary louise parker

Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory restrictions

Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory requirements

Remember the unfortunate news that Skype's new Windows Phone app wasn't compatible with low-memory devices? Well, the app is now compatible with the incoming Nokia Lumia 610. After "some challenges early on", Nokia tells us that the app is primed for use when the entry-level Windows Phone eventually hits Asian store at the end of April. Now one problem remains; which color?

Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory restrictions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

golden globe nominations los angeles clippers los angeles clippers charlize theron telenav telenav wade phillips

New research brings better wireless to remote locations, 80 percent faster GoT downloads

Image

Not getting the bandwidth you need, Heidi? Then maybe the folks at North Carolina State University can help. They've figured out a way to boost multi-hop networks, where data is forwarded across two or more nodes (hops) in order to reach far-flung users. Networks like this can often get bogged down by interference between neighboring nodes. But by using algorithms to automatically modulate the power of each link, the NC State scientists have managed to jump efficiency by up to 80 percent. This has the effect of not only increasing speed, but also saving juice if the systems are battery powered -- like those used by the US Army, which sponsored the research. After all, just because you're away from the throne doesn't mean you have to be out of the game.

New research brings better wireless to remote locations, 80 percent faster GoT downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNC State University  | Email this | Comments


sinead oconnor celtics braylon edwards jimmer fredette mall of america mennonite smokey robinson

OWC's Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD is Mac bootable, strictly neutral

OWC's Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD is Mac bootable, strictly neutral

If you've ever tried to jam a regular SSD into your Mac, then you'll know that many off-the-shelf drives feel like they're tailored and tested for, ahem, someone else. Not so with OWC's Mercury Accelsior, which claims to be the only Mac bootable and Mac supported PCIe SSD on the market. Regardless of which platform you use it with, however, the dual-SandForce card promises some neat tricks with its 24nm Toshiba Toggle NAND. Sequential read and write speeds are around 50 percent higher than what you'd get from a regular SATA III drive, with the cheapest 120GB model ($360) offering 758MB/s reads and 743MB/s writes. Random performance is notched up too, with around 100K IOPS in both directions. The 960GB version costs a coldly precise $2,096, but still -- a potential side order for when the Mac Pro line finally gets another refresh?

Continue reading OWC's Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD is Mac bootable, strictly neutral

OWC's Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD is Mac bootable, strictly neutral originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9to5 Mac  |   | Email this | Comments


bowls herman cain harry potter and the half blood prince city of ember city of ember virgin diaries kevin smith

Traveling Information For A Headache Free of charge Journey

Vacationing is amongst the great pleasures of numerous folks. There exists a thing about proceeding new areas, reaching new men and women and suffering from diverse nationalities, that will increase your horizons in ways other things can?t. Vacation does not have to be expensive nor would you generally will need to go to spectacular areas, it just must be to someplace your location confronted with different experiences. This short article can assist you to accept travel as an essential part of daily life.

Global travel can be very enjoyable. About the airplane air travel in your location, bring along a expression book and then try to become familiar with a handful of expressions inside the words of the culture in which you will be hanging out. You do not possess to become fluent from the language and several locals is going to be excited that you attempted to discover a small amount of their language. Never be shy about goof ups. Many people will value you attempted to learn a bit about their lifestyle.

Whenever you return home from the moves, make a photograph album of your excursions. In particular in case you were actually on a road trip, it is likely you encountered lots of fascinating points of interest on your own trip. A picture album permits your family and friends to discover exactly what you did and will help to sustain your remembrances.

Use the characteristic of the site to pick a seat over a flight that is going to be cozy for yourself. The longer the vacation, a lot more important it will likely be to pay close attention to your location seated in the trip. You should be able to care for this very easily during reserving the air travel.

If you?re vacationing with little ones, it?s tempting to allow them all tune out using their very own audio players, but give some thought to getting together some publications on CD. Possessing anything literate and exciting for the whole household to listen to is not really only entertaining and fascinating, but gives a typical expertise that each relative might take forwards together into existence (?Hey, keep in mind whenever i was 10, therefore we listened to Black Elegance on the right way to Maine??). It?s the things of which fond recollections are manufactured.

Stay away from catching a cool, or more serious, on the aircraft with hand sanitizer. An airplane is surely an enclosed space exactly where a large number of individuals are confined on an expanded time period. To make matters a whole lot worse, the atmosphere in the cabin is circulates, spreading germs from passenger to passenger. To prevent catching some thing, avoid touching your vision, nose, and oral cavity. In case you should scratch that itch, cleanse both hands, then use hand sanitizer.

Once you fly around time zones jet lower-leg is extremely common, although there is practically nothing that can be done to totally avoid it, if you eat light on your own trip it will help. Consume casually avoiding unique food items for that first couple of working days of your own journey that way your entire body can concentrate on receiving employed to your environment as an alternative to digesting lots of food.

Make your getaway a lot more environmentally friendly by finding new spots by ft .. You will discover many of the most enticing places are set away from from the major thoroughfares, concealed out and simply accessible by foot. Trekking delivers numerous unforgettable views and up close experiences, as does bicycling and canoeing.

In the event you traveling frequently, purchase modest reusable plastic-type material bottles. You will discover reusable bottles at most huge supermarkets. Putting your normal shampoos and conditioners during these tiny, reusable bottles is far more affordable in the long term. Vacation size toiletries are usually very overpriced for your tiny amount of product indoors them.

Be sure to fully understand all the laws of your location you are going to. Some regulations may seem very strange to you, however in that place, which is the way it can be. Disobeying laws in the particular area could cause some severe repercussions and you may acquire more of the penalty than you might be prepared for.

Bedbugs

Maintain your luggage on unupholstered pieces of furniture to avoid just about any mattress bug infestation. Check the room completely to find out if you will find any but when you are sensing in any way unclear, retain the baggage up. That is the method in which your bed bugs will certainly hitch a drive rear to your home and commence their infestation there.

If you type in your hotel room, check out bedbugs. Despite the fact that this might be the very last thing in your thoughts, it is an essential aspect. These pesky bugs can get within your baggage and affix them selves to the things, significance you are able to wind up getting them residence along with you.

For all those vacationers that are really paranoid regarding the invasion of bedbugs, check out the on-line Mattress Bug Pc registry. It is actually the place other holidaymakers took enough time to record the accommodations they may have remained within that had bed bugs. You will understand what hotels have experienced bed bug troubles allowing you to prevent them.

Check out your hotel room for those nasty tiny bed bugs. As soon as you check out in, transform on the addresses and appearance the seams of your mattress for traces of bedbugs. Traces include bloodstains or perhaps the actual bugs their selves. This may stop you from getting the bugs house along with you.

For those vacationers that happen to be incredibly paranoid concerning the invasion of bedbugs, browse the on the internet Mattress Bug Computer registry. It can be where other tourists have got the time to report the resorts that they have remained in that had bedbugs. You will understand what lodges have experienced mattress bug troubles allowing you to prevent them.

As pointed out at the beginning of this article, whether or not you?re vacationing a quick distance or to a a long way away location, there are some arranging things you can do that can help you to unwind and savor your time out. You may use the helpful suggestions and ideas in this article to help make your journeys enjoyable and hassle totally free.

Have you said? i have bed bugs then you will want to see this new solution.

payroll tax payroll tax aisha khan alanis morissette vanessa bryant vanessa bryant nfl mock draft 2012

Windows Server 8 gets a new name, roses retain their sweetness

Image

A wise man once said that names don't matter, because what something's called won't change how mustard tastes. Microsoft has clearly taken that wisdom to its heart, spending two seconds (we hope) in deciding that official title of Windows Server 8 will be... Windows Server 2012. In other news, System Center 2012 -- Microsoft's private cloud software for enterprise users -- is now available for evaluation and purchase. Carry on.

Continue reading Windows Server 8 gets a new name, roses retain their sweetness

Windows Server 8 gets a new name, roses retain their sweetness originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |   | Email this | Comments


george clooney arrested ravi leigh espn greg oden st patricks day st. bonaventure

Land Professional Sales Associates of Coldwell Banker Commercial ...

LAKELAND, FL (April 2012) ? Four real estate land professionals of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate in Lakeland, FL, were named as winners for Coldwell Banker Commercial Circle of Distinction Bronze sales awards based upon the 2011 sales year.

This award is given to Coldwell Banker Commercial sales professionals who produce between $200,000 and $349,999 in Closed Adjusted Gross Commission Income from franchisable commercial services for 2009.

?

Winners of the CBC Circle of Distinction Bronze are:

????????? Brian Beasley, CCA, CNLM, specializing in citrus groves, agricultural crop, timberland, commercial property, and natural areas in Central and South Florida

????????? Jeff Cusson, CCIM, specializing in agricultural and transition properties, industrial, and general commercial real estate.

????????? Richard Dempsey, ALC, specializing in large acreage tracts, citrus groves, and development properties.

????????? Clay Taylor, ALC, specializing in development land (finished lots, subdivisions, and entitled acreage), agricultural land, hunting/recreational tracts, and ranches

?

About Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate

Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate is regarded as an authority on all types of Florida land, transacting over $900 MM in sales from 1996 through 2011. The Saunders team of land real estate professionals offers advisory and transactional services through its home office in Lakeland, FL and its network of Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliate offices nationwide and worldwide.

CBC Saunders Real Estate offers a broad range of services to meet the real estate needs of landowners. Through long-held relationships with key government and industry decision makers, the firm provides consulting on government issues both locally and on state and national levels. For more information, please visit www.saundersrealestate.com.

###

lindsay lohan saturday night live snl lindsay lohan valley fever project x the lorax metta world peace earthquake

Incipio Inscribe Executive Stylus & Pen review

Incipio Executive stylus

The stylus is far from dead. For many of us, nothing beats the pinpoint accuracy you can get from using a good capacitive stylus, whether you're just cruising through the home screens on your Android device, drawing, or even typing on an on-screen keyboard. When Draw Something came out, I looked at my poor chewed up stylus and decided I had to get another one. After snooping around ShopAndroid.com I came across the Incipio Executive Stylus & Pen, and figured I'd give it a try. As someone who always carries a pen, I wanted to try and kill two birds with one stone, and this one does it.

If you're looking to pick up a stylus for general purpose use with an Android phone or tablet, I'd recommend the Incipio Executive to anyone. It's thick, making it easy to hold an use, has a nice high ball that works at just about any angle, and quality construction means it's not going to leak ink all over your shirt pocket or briefcase. Hit the break to read more.

read more

roman numerals new england patriots patriots nbc madonna madonna superbowl halftime

Crazy Courtney Love Thinks Dave Grohl Is After Her Daughter

Crazy Courtney Love Thinks Dave Grohl Is After Her Daughter

Courtney Love seems to believe that her daughter with the late Kurt Cobain, Frances Bean Cobain, is being hit on by 43-year-old Dave Grohl. The [...]

Crazy Courtney Love Thinks Dave Grohl Is After Her Daughter Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News


cheney tori spelling marion barber marion barber syracuse ohio state girl with the dragon tattoo

Marketplace takes a look at how the iPad is made and who, exactly, builds it

Image

The unique privilege of jumpsuiting up and prowling the Foxconn factory floor may be reserved for the likes of Tim Cook and Nightline's Bill Weir, but thanks to American Public Media's Marketplace, we can all take a peek at the iPad production line. The above video is part of Rob Schmitz' ongoing look at Foxconn's factory conditions. Schmitz is partially responsible for debunking Mike Daisey's "theatrical" deception, and now hopes to educate readers on the reality of Foxconn's Longhua facility.

"When I gave examples of some of the American media coverage of the working conditions at Foxconn, many workers laughed, telling me it's not really that bad" Schmitz writes. "But that doesn't mean the workers don't have complaints." Through a series of interviews, Schmitz unveils how workers feel about their supervisors, jobs, pay, family back home and their dreams for the future. So, how's that iPad made? Check out the source link below, and find out.

Marketplace takes a look at how the iPad is made and who, exactly, builds it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AppleInsider  |  sourceAmerican Public Media Marketplace  | Email this | Comments


ecu john wooden tanuki mirror mirror trailer bob knight bob knight lavar arrington