Matthew Purvis Archives

From the Hansard archives: Redeveloping the foreign office

Monday, 09 September, 2024

A recent paper about UK foreign policy called for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to “modernise the working environment to set a future oriented culture”. It described the FCDO’s physical surroundings as “somewhat elitist and rooted in the past”. This briefing looks back at Lords Hansard to chart the House’s response to more radical plans in the 1960s that proposed a new foreign office building, which later formed part of a wider scheme for the redevelopment of Whitehall.

From the Hansard archives: Redeveloping the foreign office

Lengths of prorogation since 1900

Thursday, 01 August, 2024

Prorogation is the mechanism by which parliamentary sessions are ended. This House of Lords Library briefing sets out the start and end dates of each parliamentary session since 1900, together with the number of calendar days between the end of the previous session and the start of the new one.

How ethnically and religiously diverse is the House of Lords?

Thursday, 01 August, 2024

As of 2018, around 6% of House of Lords members were from ethnic minorities, doubling from nearly 3% in 2000. In comparison, following the 2024 general election, nearly 14% of MPs are from ethnic minorities. As its membership is appointed, the House of Lords’ diversity is largely dependent on the frequency and scale of appointments, which are in the power of the prime minister.

How ethnically and religiously diverse is the House of Lords?

In Focus

Could a life peerage be created without a seat in the Lords?

Thursday, 01 August, 2024

This briefing explores the history of life peerages and prospects for appointing peers outside of the Life Peerages Act 1958.
In Focus

From the Hansard archives: North Atlantic Treaty 1949

Wednesday, 29 May, 2024

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is 75 years old this summer. This briefing looks back through the Hansard archives to the debate where the House approved the signing of the treaty and finds some themes raised by members that still resonate today.
- In Focus
- International Law
In Focus

Why peers cannot vote at general elections

Wednesday, 29 May, 2024

Common law long provided that peers of parliament could not vote in general elections. In the last 25 years, this has been put on a statutory footing and peers who are members of the House of Lords remain barred from voting. This briefing explores how this came to be and looks at recent attempts to change this disenfranchisement.
In Focus

Customs and traditions: The mace

Thursday, 04 April, 2024

The mace is a staff of office symbolising the authority of the sovereign in Parliament. A mace is carried to the Lords and the Commons chambers in a procession at the beginning and end of each sitting day. In the Lords, it rests on the woolsack behind the lord speaker during proceedings. As is the case in the Commons, the Lords may not conduct business in the chamber whilst it is not present. But where did this custom and tradition come from and are maces found in other parliaments?
In Focus

From the Hansard archives: Fixing a date for Easter?

Wednesday, 03 April, 2024

In 1928, Parliament passed legislation that set the date of Easter on “the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April”. This was subject to an order in council that specified that, before any commencement order, “regard” be given to “any opinion officially expressed by any church or other Christian body”. The act has never been commenced. It remains on the statute book. This briefing delves into the Hansard archives to find that 25 years ago the House debated the merits of bringing that act into force.
- In Focus
- House of Lords
Data dashboard

House of Lords: Largest votes and government defeats

Wednesday, 03 April, 2024

What have been the largest ever votes in the House of Lords? This briefing provides a list of divisions since 1999 where 500 or more members have voted.
- Data dashboard
- House of Lords
In Focus

From the Hansard archives: Flexible working in the nineties

Tuesday, 06 February, 2024

Almost half of workers worked from home during Covid lockdown restrictions in 2020. Three years on, 31 percent of workers worked from home during their working week, representing an ongoing change in working patterns. This briefing looks back 30 years to a debate in the House of Lords on the importance of flexible working, which saw speakers reflecting on the potential benefits of such emerging working practices in the economy.
- In Focus
- Employment
In Focus

From the Hansard archives: Parliamentary firsts at the 1958 Queen’s Speech

Wednesday, 08 November, 2023

The state opening of Parliament in 1958 would be the last of that parliament, taking place 12 months before the election the following year. In the six days of debate on the address that followed, members responded to the government’s legislative programme, an agenda set in a context of ongoing international and domestic economic challenges. However, its significance lay in it being the occasion for two parliamentary firsts. This briefing looks back to find that the subsequent debates on the address saw the first contributions of life peers. It was also the first state opening to be televised.
Research Briefing

House of Lords: Largest Votes Recorded

Tuesday, 27 July, 2021

What have been the largest ever votes in the House of Lords? This briefing provides a list of divisions since 1999 where 500 or more Members have voted.
Research Briefing

Ethnic and Religious Diversity in the House of Lords

Tuesday, 05 November, 2019

This House of Lords Library Briefing provides background information on ethnic and religious representation in the House of Lords.
Research Briefing

Withdrawal Agreement: Section 13(1)(c) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Friday, 04 January, 2019

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate in the House of Lords on 9, 10 and, provisionally, 14 January 2019 on "Further debate, for the purposes of section 13(1)(c) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, taking note of the negotiated withdrawal agreement and the framework for the future relationship".
Research Briefing

Women in the Lords: Viscountess Rhondda Peerage Case

Wednesday, 28 November, 2018

In 1921, Viscountess Rhondda petitioned the House of Lords to challenge the barring of female hereditary peers from taking their seats in Parliament. This briefing sets out background to this petition and provides a short summary of the events that followed its rejection.

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