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Doctrine and decision: navigating Labour’s new constitutional position in the Lords

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 09:03
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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 09:03 authored by Emily RobinsonEmily Robinson, Jake Watts
The 2015–17 Parliament was the first time in history that the Conservatives were in government with no easily assembled majority in the House of Lords. This has fundamentally altered the role that Labour is able to play in the Lords and, conversely, that peers are able to play in the Labour party. Yet the political significance of this situation has not yet been fully appreciated by a party which remains culturally antagonistic and constitutionally wary of the Lords. In this paper, we draw on interviews with Labour peers, particularly the late Baroness Hollis of Heigham, who have been able to use the essentially conservative powers of the Lords for social democratic ends. We suggest that the Labour party needs to incorporate the second chamber into both its practical and symbolic politics, and to find ways to use this new source of constitutional power without accommodating to it.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

The Political Quarterly

ISSN

0032-3179

Publisher

Wiley

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • No

Legacy Posted Date

2019-03-14

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-03-12

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-03-19

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