Lord Speaker interview on BBC Radio Manchester
15 March 2013 (updated on 15 March 2013)
The Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza appeared on BBC Radio Manchester on Wednesday 13 March to talk about her role and the important work of the House of Lords
- Listen to the Lord’s Speaker’s interview (from 39:20 - available until Tuesday 19 March)
In the interview, broadcast on the station’s breakfast show, the Lord Speaker explained how the self-regulating system of the Lords means she does not have to impose order on the House. Instead her role is to preside over business in the chamber and to promote the important work of one of the busiest legislative chambers in the world.
The Lord Speaker also highlighted how debates and deliberations in the Lords ‘are much more issue driven... people are interested in the substance of a bill, and making changes so that it's a better bill, rather than simply following a party political line.’
On the issue of reform, the Lord Speaker said that today’s House is one which ‘is changing all the time’. Although the recent bill proposing Lords reform was dropped, in her view the Lords should continue to make incremental changes to ensure it can continue to effectively fulfil its role in the UK Parliament.
On next week’s agenda
- On Wednesday 20 March, the Lord Speaker will host a lunch for the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament at the House of Lords.
- The following day she will attend the enthronement ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral of the Most Reverend and Rt Hon Justin Welby as the new Archbishop of Canterbury.