Commonwealth democracy debate in Lords

Lord Sheikh (Conservative) will open the debate and Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead will speak for the Government.

Members scheduled to take part include the following.

• Lord Hughes of Woodside (Labour), former chair of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and honorary president of Action for Southern Africa.
• Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat), chair of the International Advisory Board for the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit of the European Parliament.
• Lord Janvrin (Crossbench), a former diplomat who worked for the high commission in New Delhi.
• Lord Goodlad (Conservative), former High Commissioner to Australia.
• Lord Anderson of Swansea (Labour), co-founder and former senior vice-president of the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa.
• Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat), previously worked for the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants and most recently was a member of the Commission on the future of Multi-Ethnic Britain.
• Lord Luce (Crossbench), former Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister and Governor of Gibraltar.
• Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative), a former Secretary of State who chaired the Commons Select Committee on Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for 10 years.
• Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Liberal Democrat), a former member of the European Parliament and vice chair of its Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Other Members scheduled to speak include Lord Bilimoria, Lord Bhattacharyya, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, Baroness Butler-Sloss, Viscount Eccles, Baroness Gardner of Parkes, Baroness O’Cathain, Earl of Sandwich, Lord Selsdon, Baroness Verma and Baroness Young of Hornsey.

Further information

• List of speakers - Lords Government Whips Office (external site)
• Video and Audio - watch the debate live
• Lords Hansard - transcript available approximately three hours from the start of the debate
• Alphabetical list of Members of the Lords
• Parliamentary calendar