Close
The Changing Role of the House of Lords
The House of Lords has been the subject of long-term research at the Constitution Unit. Our听Director, Professor Meg Russell, is considered a leading voice on the House of Lords, both in terms of how the chamber operates听and options for its reform.
Major research outputs on the House of Lords include Professor Russell's听Oxford University Press book, The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived,听and a Constitution Unit report, 'Enough is Enough: Regulating Appointments to the House of Lords', which helped to encourage action on tackling the size of the chamber. Most recently, she has published a report, 'House of Lords Reform: Navigating the Obstacles', which outlines the options for short and long term reforms to the House of Lords.
Professor Russell has in the past been a specialist adviser to the 听and the听 (of Lords). Today, she provides frequent commentary听on the chamber鈥檚 work听and on live issues, such as the Prime Minister's peerage appointments.
Notable outputs
The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived
This book, published in 2013, is the result of a long-term听study of the Lords undertaken by Meg Russell.听It is the most complete published work about the House of Lords:听its history, membership, current role in the policy process听and options for reform.听
House of Lords Reform: Navigating the Obstacles
This 2023 report听discusses what the House of Lords does, summarises successful and unsuccessful proposals for reform in the past, explores public opinion about the House of Lords听and discusses what the key reform objectives and priorities should be.
