Robert James Rogers, Baron Lisvane, (born 5 February 1950) is a British life peer and retired public servant. He served as

Clerk of the House of Commons The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of C ...

from October 2011 until August 2014. Following his elevation as a Life Peer in 2014, Lord Lisvane sits as a

crossbencher 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 oppositi ...

in the House of Lords. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Constitution Reform Group (CRG), a cross-party organisation which is chaired by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury which seeks a new constitutional settlement in the UK by way of a new Act of Union. Lord Lisvane introduced the Act of Union Bill 2018 as a private member’s bill in the House of Lords on 9 October 2018, when it received a formal first reading. The

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has suggested that the issues addressed by the Bill are likely to become important in the 2019 Parliament.

Early life

Born in Cardiff, Rogers attended Tonbridge School before going to

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

, where he read for the degree Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, as well as representing Oxford University at

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, and

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

. He captained Lincoln College in the series of '' University Challenge'' broadcast in 1970, reaching the semi-final. He was a Rhodes Research Scholar in 1971 and worked briefly at the Ministry of Defence before entering parliamentary service in the House of Commons.

Parliament career

House of Commons

Rogers joined the House of Commons Service in 1972 and was involved in every aspect of the procedural and committee work of Parliament during his career, including postings as Clerk for

Private Members' Bills A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

, Clerk to the

Defence Select Committee The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, having been established in 1979. It examines the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated publ ...

, Clerk of the

European Scrutiny Committee The European Scrutiny Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Following Britain's withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020 and the end of the transition period on 31 December 202 ...

, Secretary of the

House of Commons Commission The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration in the United Kingdom. The Commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 (c.36). The Commission c ...

, Clerk of

Select Committees Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde * ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a television program * ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...

, Clerk of the Journals (2004–2005), Principal Clerk of the Table Office (2005–2006), and Clerk of Legislation (2006–2009). He was Clerk Assistant and Director General, Chamber and Committee Services from 2009 to 2011. He succeeded

Sir Malcolm Jack Sir Malcolm Roy Jack KCB (born 17 December 1946) was the Clerk of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2011. He began service with the House of Commons in 1967. He was appointed Principal Clerk in 1991 and served as secretary ...

as Clerk of the House of Commons on 1 October 2011. On 30 April 2014, Rogers announced his intention to retire at the end of August that year. At the date of his retirement he had served for over four decades in the House of Commons, including more than ten years as a Clerk at the Table.

House of Lords

On 21 October 2014, it was announced that Rogers was to be raised to the peerage, having been nominated personally by Prime Minister David Cameron. He was created a life peer on 11 December 2014, taking the title Lord Lisvane, of Blakemere in the

County of Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshi ...

and of

Lisvane Lisvane ( cy, Llys-faen) is an affluent community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, located north of the city centre. Lisvane is generally considered to be one of the wealthiest residential areas of Wales, with an average house ...

in the

City and County of Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United King ...

. Lord Lisvane sits in the House of Lords as a

. He made his maiden speech on 1 June 2015. He is a member of the House of Lords Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform, and of the

Ecclesiastical Committee The Ecclesiastical Committee is a statutory joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created by the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 to review Church of England measures submitted to Parliament by the Legislative Commi ...

. He is an independent vice-president of the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

Personal life and other posts

Rogers has been independent chairman of local government standards committees, a

police authority A police authority in the United Kingdom is a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police ...

and a

fire and rescue authority In England and Wales a fire authority or fire and rescue authority is a statutory body made up of a committee of local councillors which oversees the policy and service delivery of a fire and rescue service. Prior to the Fire Services Act 2004 ma ...

. He was Chairman of the

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

Perpetual Trust and a member of the Cathedral Council (2007–09). In 2016 Lord Lisvane undertook an independent review to examine the functioning of the branches of Tynwald, the Isle of Man parliament, and to consider options for reform. On 22 January 2020, Lord Lisvane submitted a formal complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards against former Commons Speaker John Bercow. He is co-author of the standard textbook ''How Parliament Works'', as of 2018 in its eight edition, and author of two parliamentary miscellanies: ''Order! Order!'' (2010) and ''Who Goes Home?'' (2012). He is married to Jane, who was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England on 30 June 2013 and as a priest on 27 September 2014; they have two daughters: Catherine, a solicitor, and Eleanor, who works in public health research. Jane was the High Sheriff of Herefordshire 2017–18. Lisvane's recreations are sailing, shooting, cricket, music (he is a

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ist) and country pursuits.

Honours

Rogers was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

for "parliamentary and public service". He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Herefordshire in April 2015. Rogers was elected to an

honorary fellowship Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in ...

of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 2012, and as an honorary bencher of the Middle Temple in 2013. He is also a Freeman of the City of London, a liveryman and Past Master of the Skinners' Company. In October 2016, he was appointed to the ancient office of Chief Steward of the City of Hereford.

References

External links

''People of Today'' - Robert Rogers
Debretts {{DEFAULTSORT:Lisvane, Robert James Rogers, Lord 1950 births Living people People educated at Tonbridge School People from Cardiff Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Clerks of the House of Commons Crossbench life peers Deputy Lieutenants of Herefordshire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Contestants on University Challenge English educators Life peers created by Elizabeth II English organists