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Cross-bencher
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber. United Kingdom Crossbench members of the British House of Lords are not aligned to any particular party. Until 2009, these included the Law Lords appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. In addition, former Speakers of the House of Commons (such as Lord Martin of Springburn and Baroness Boothroyd) and former Lord Speakers of the House of Lords (such as Baroness Hayman and Baroness D'Souza), who by convention are not aligned with any party, also sit as crossbenchers. There are also some non-affiliated members of the House of Lords who are not part of the crossbencher group; this includes some officers, such as the Lord Speaker, and others who are associated with a party but h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Lords Appointments Commission
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It has two roles: *to recommend at least two people a year for appointment as non-party-political life peers who sit on the crossbenches; *to vet for propriety most other nominations for membership of the House of Lords, including those nominated by the UK political parties, nominations put forward by the Prime Minister for ministerial appointment in the House of Lords, for public service, and nominations in the Honours lists (including Resignation and Dissolution). The Commission does not vet for propriety the appointments of the Bishops or Archbishops or the 92 hereditary peers who still sit in the House of Lords. The Commission was established in May 2000 to assist the transitional arrangements for reform of the House of Lords. The role of the Prime Minister in making ''non-partisan'' recommendations to the King for creation of life peerages was parti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minor Party
A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great that the membership total, donations, and the candidates that they are able to produce or attract are very distinct. Some of the minor parties play almost no role in a country's politics because of their low recognition, vote and donations. Minor parties often receive very small numbers of votes at an election (to the point of losing any candidate nomination deposit). The method of voting can also assist or hinder a minor party's chances. For example, in an election for more than one member, the proportional representation method of voting can be advantageous to a minor party as can preference allocation from one or both of the major parties. A minor party that follows the direction/directive of some other major parties is called a bloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frances D'Souza, Baroness D'Souza
Frances Gertrude Claire D'Souza, Baroness D'Souza, (''née'' Russell; born 18 April 1944) is a British scientist and politician. She held the office of Lord Speaker from 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2016. Early life, education and early career Frances Gertrude Claire Russell, the daughter of Robert Anthony Gilbert and Pauline (née Parmet) Russell, was educated at St Mary's School, Princethorpe, and went to University College London to read anthropology, graduating BSc in 1970. She subsequently undertook further study at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) in 1976. She worked for the Nuffield Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition from 1973 to 1977, Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University) from 1977 to 1980, and was an independent research consultant for the United Nations from 1985 to 1988. From 1989 to 2002, she was the director of the human rights organization Article 19. As its representative she supported t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Williamson, Baron Williamson Of Horton
David Francis Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton (8 May 1934 – 30 August 2015) was a senior British and European civil servant, as well as a member of the House of Lords. Education and early life Williamson was educated at Tonbridge School and Exeter College, Oxford. He served in the Royal Signals 1956–58 as his national service. He married Patricia Smith in 1961; they had two sons. Civil service career Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food He began his civil service career in 1958 at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, becoming Principal Private Secretary to the minister in 1967. European Commission He was Deputy Director-General for Agriculture in the European Commission from 1977 to 1983 and Secretary-General of the European Commission from 1987 to 1997. From 1983 until 1987, Williamson had returned to the United Kingdom to serve as Deputy Secretary and head the European Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. House of Lords After leaving Brussels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Craig, Baron Craig Of Radley
Marshal of the Royal Air Force David Brownrigg Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, (born 17 September 1929) is a retired Royal Air Force officer and member of the House of Lords. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1950s, a squadron commander in the 1960s and a station commander in the 1970s. He served as Chief of the Air Staff during the late 1980s, when the Boeing Airborne early warning and control system was ordered and the European Fighter programme was being developed. He then served as Chief of the Defence Staff during the Gulf War. He was granted a life peerage as Baron Craig of Radley after his retirement from active service in 1991, sitting as a crossbencher. As of 2022, he is the last living officer in the British Armed Forces to have held a five-star rank whilst on active service. Early life The son of Major Francis Brownrigg Craig and his wife Olive Craig, Craig grew up in the Irish Free State, and was largely unaffected by the events of the Second World War.Probert, p. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard Weatherill
Bruce Bernard Weatherill, Baron Weatherill, (25 November 1920 – 6 May 2007) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1983 and 1992. Family He was the son of Bernard Bruce Weatherill (1883–1962) and Annie Gertrude (, 1886–1966). He married Lyn Eatwell (born 1928) in 1949 and they had three children: Bernard Richard (born 1951), Henry Bruce (born 1953) and Virginia (born 1955). Weatherill was known as "Jack", while his twin sister (baptismal name Margery) was called "Jill". Tailor After attending Malvern College, he was apprenticed at age 17 as a tailor to the family firm Bernard Weatherill Ltd, Sporting Tailors, later of 5 Savile Row. He became Director (1948), Managing Director (1958), and Chairman (1967) of the business. After it merged with Kilgour French & Stanbury Ltd., Tailors in 1969, he became Chairman of the combined firm. He resumed his role with the company after his retirement from the House of Commons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audrey Hylton-Foster, Baroness Hylton-Foster
Audrey Pellew Hylton-Foster, Baroness Hylton-Foster DBE (née Brown; 19 May 1908 – 31 October 2002), was the daughter of Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside, and Violet Cicely Kathleen Wollaston. She married Sir Harry Braustyn Hylton-Foster, who had started a distinguished career at the Bar in 1931; they had no children. Born in Simla, India, she was educated at St George's, Ascot, and Ivy House, Wimbledon. Both her father and husband served as Speaker of the House of Commons. Red Cross work Audrey Hylton-Foster first lived at Speaker's House during her father's time there, when she went to recover from measles. While she was convalescing she started working for the British Red Cross, and this, apart from politics, became her life's work. During World War II she was a nurse at St Luke's Hospital, Chelsea. She cycled thousands of miles around London on her Red Cross duties. In 1950 she became director of the Chelsea division of the British Red Cross. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Strang, 1st Baron Strang
William Strang, 1st Baron Strang (2 January 1893 – 27 May 1978) was a British diplomat who served as a leading adviser to the British Government from the 1930s to the 1950s and as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1949 to 1953. Early life and education Strang was the eldest son of James Strang, a farmer, and his wife Margaret Steven, daughter of William Steven. He was educated at Palmer's School, University College, London and at the Sorbonne. Military and diplomatic career Strang was commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment in 1915 and served in the First World War. He ended the war as a Captain. In 1919, he joined the Diplomatic Service and served at the British embassy in Belgrade from 1919 to 1922, at the Foreign Office from 1922 to 1930 and at the embassy in Moscow from 1930 to 1933. During his time in Moscow he played an important role in the Metro-Vickers engineers trial, in which six British engineers were accused of spying. He returned t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usual Channels
"Usual channels" is a term used in British politics to describe the relationship between the whips of the Government and the Opposition. Essentially, this is to obtain co-operation between the two parties, in order to ensure as much business as possible can be dealt with in each parliamentary session. Negotiations in the "usual channels" take place daily, with the key roles being played by civil servants such as the private secretary to the Chief Whip. They determine how the time in each house of Parliament is spent and, prior to the 2010 general election, they decided the composition and the chair of select committees. In 2002, the Hansard Society published a report entitled ''Opening Up The Usual Channels'', which concluded that the Commons would benefit from greater transparency if the system were to be replaced by a formal "business committee" as used in other legislatures. In 2006, The Constitution Unit at UCL made similar recommendations. In 2009, following the parli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of The United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses Parliamentary sovereignty, legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is Bicameralism, bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign (King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons (the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, primary chamber). In theory, power is officially vested in the Queen-in-Parliament, King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is ''de facto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igor Judge, Baron Judge
Igor Judge, Baron Judge, (born 19 May 1941) is an English former judge who served as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the head of the judiciary, from 2008 to 2013. He was previously President of the Queen's Bench Division, at the time a newly created post assuming responsibilities transferred from the office of Lord Chief Justice. In 2019, he became Convenor of the Crossbench peers in the House of Lords. Early life and education Judge was born in Malta to Raymond and Rosa Judge (née Micallef). Judge was educated at St. Edward's College, Malta, from 1947 to 1954 and The Oratory School in Woodcote in Oxfordshire from 1954 to 1959, where he was Captain of School and Captain of Cricket. He was awarded an Open Exhibition to study History and Law at Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1959, and he graduated BA in 1962. Legal career He was called to the bar (Middle Temple) in 1963 and became a Recorder in 1976 and Queen's Counsel in 1979. From 1980 to 1986, he served ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by Jeffrey Donaldson, it is the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and is the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The party has been described as right-wing and socially conservative, being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and Irish republicanism; the party is Eurosceptic and supported Brexit. It supports Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom and opposes the unification of Ireland. The DUP evolved from the Protestant Unionist Party and has historically strong links to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, the church Paisley founded. During the Troubles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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