News from the Centre for Citizenship

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.…

Michael Grade, who chairs state lottery operator Camelot, is to be the new head of the BBC. Mr. Grade will chair the state media giant’s board of governors. State lotteries have been described as “a tax on the poor.” Mr. Grade is likely to feel at home, therefore, in a business that targets unemployed single…

A legislator-for-life, Barbara Scott, is one of the two leading candidates to chair the board of the BBC state broadcaster. Ms. Young was appointed as a legislator-for-life in 1997 and is a member of the Labour Party group in the unelected second chamber of the legislature. The other leading contender for the post is Michael…

Gavyn Davies, former BBC chairperson, has told friends that “he expects to spend most of his time on the wealth management business” according to the Financial Times. He is talking to Goldman Sachs bankers about setting up a company to manage the investments of wealthy clients. The state broadcaster formerly headed by Mr. Davies extorts…

Charles Falconer, the so-called Lord Chancellor, has announced that parliament will be asked to restrict the powers of the legislators-for-life who sit in the second chamber of parliament The exact nature of the proposed change was not revealed, only that the unelected legislators would have less ability to influence legislation. The announcement was made as…

There will be no more reform of the House of Lords in this session of parliament, the government has announced. This means that the remaining 93 hereditary legislators-for-life will keep their seats in the legislature for the time being. The decision not to go ahead with a bill to remove the hereditary legislators was taken…

Religious groups are to receive a special tax break, Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced. They will not have to pay the value added tax paid by others when they repair their places of worship in the next two years. The state Anglican church, which already receives a bite from each tax payment, was among the…