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Green member of House of Lords seeks to ‘abolish’ herself

3 February 2017

* Green peer seeks to transform House of Lords from within

* Jenny Jones: Lords reform is essential for proper scrutiny of Brexit process

Jenny Jones, Green member of the House of Lords, will today (February 3) continue her fight to transform the unelected chamber.

Baroness Jones’ House of Lords Reform Bill will get its second reading on Friday, with reform of the Lords more important now than ever to enable proper scrutiny of the Brexit process.

Baroness Jones hopes to gather support from within the Lords for her plans to replace the House of Lords with a democratic and effective second chamber. This would use proportional representation to elect a new house, but keep many existing peers as non-voting experts.

Her Bill is the first with this mix of proposals to come from within the Lords.

Jenny Jones said:

“I’m not the only Lord who wants to abolish their right to vote in the second chamber, but I’m aiming to be one of the most energetic peers in making it happen. I’m relatively new to the Lords and I hope my fresh approach will help fast track the various discussions about Lords reform.

“The referendum vote in favour of Brexit makes Lords reform both urgent and inevitable. The government could try to push through all kinds of bad ideas on the back of the Brexit negotiations, the Great Repeal Act and hasty trade deals.

“We need an effective and democratic chamber to help scrutinise the secondary legislation and the international deals.

“The Government may well give itself so-called Henry 8th powers to just unilaterally repeal or amend European laws after the Repeal Act passes, opening the door to a bonfire of environmental and social protections. We need a second chamber that has the legitimacy and popular backing to challenge the use of such anti-democratic powers.”

Notes:

1 https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldordpap.htm

Jenny’s bill is the third on a list to be taken at 10am on Friday 3rd June. Nine peers in addition to Jenny have put their names down to speak so far.

House of Lords Reform Bill [HL] Second Reading [Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb]

If the bill is read a second time, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to move that the bill be committed to a Committee of the Whole House

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Green Party • • •

Cancer Research UK’s warning of cancer rates amongst women rising faster than those amongst men should be a warning shot to Ministers – Hodgson

Sharon Hodgson MP, Shadow Minister for Public Health, reacting to Cancer Research UK’s report into women’s cancer rates rising faster than men’s, said:

“Cancer Research UK’s warning of cancer rates amongst women rising faster than those amongst men in the next 20 years due to a lack of prevention measures should be a warning shot to Ministers that their policies are failing the health of our nation.

“Despite the radical upgrade we were promised in the Five Year Forward View two years ago, the Government’s mishandling of the NHS has seen this upgrade fall by the wayside and has been exacerbated by the deep cuts to public health funding we have seen.

“The Government has a lot of work to do when it comes to their Cancer Strategy, but they cannot let it be undermined by weakening preventative measures which can address these issues at source. Ministers need a serious rethink when it comes to their approach to public health.”

Ends

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Labour • • •

Theresa May must take action or the divisions between north and south will become even deeper – Rayner

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the first report of the Northern Powerhouse, said:


“This report from George Osborne’s think tank is all very well, but let’s not forget that he was a Chancellor in a Tory Government that presided over falling school budgets, a chronic teacher shortage and not enough good school places.


“The Tories’ huge cuts to schools funding will hit schools in the North hard, making the problems highlighted in this report even worse. The Northern Powerhouse means nothing unless the Government is prepared to invest in education, skills and infrastructure.


“Theresa May must take action or the divisions between North and South will become even deeper, with working people paying the price for inequality. The Government must stop undermining our schools’ ability to deliver an excellent education for all by failing to invest in our children’s future.”

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Labour • • •