Month: May 2004

The ability of legislators in the House of Lords to delay or bar legislation agreed by elected legislators may be restricted after the next general election, according to report in the Financial Times. Valerie Amos, Leader of the House of Lords, told the newspaper that the government had not decided whether the curbs should be…

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the former British colony in the Pacific, has announced that the country is to consider becoming a republic, removing the British queen Elizabeth Windsor as its head of state. The 11, 000 people of Tuvalu will first be consulted on whether a referendum should be held to decide whether to…

An election is underway to fill a vacant seat in Britain’s legislature. The only citizens allowed to vote in the House of Lords election are Conservative legislators-for-life. The only citizens permitted to stand for election are hereditary “Lords.” Under current law the winning candidate will be a legislator until she or he dies.

Multimillionaire Irvine Laidlaw has agreed to end his tax exile of 22 years and live in Britain in return for a life seat in the legislature, according to the Financial Times. In a statement to the newspaper he said that he “would not have become a resident if it were not for the” legislative appointment.…