Explaining House of Lords Reform

The book, published by Palgrave Macmillan to coincide with the centenary of the landmark 1911 Parliament Act, which significantly reduced the powers of the second chamber, examines the long history of Lords reform in the twentieth century and probes the various reasons why it’s always proven so difficult to reform the membership of the House.

‘Lords reform is one of the great puzzles in British constitutional politics,’ says Dr Kelso. ‘This book, which maps out the arc of reform over these last hundred years, helps us better understand current attempts by the coalition government to continue with reform and move towards a mostly or wholly elected second chamber – an idea which sounds good in principle but which is notoriously difficult to negotiate into place.’

The book is available for purchase on Amazon

Dr Kelso also recently gave evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee, on 27 April 2011, as part of its enquiry into the constitutional reform process in Britain and how it might be changed. During her evidence, Dr Kelso argued strongly for greater public involvement in processes of constitutional reform, which is often treated as an elite affair above public understanding. You can read an uncorrected transcript of Dr Kelso’s evidence on the Parliament website.

More information about the House of Lords Constitution Committee inquiry can be found on the Parliament website.