The House of Lords at work - Donald Shell

Contributors: Nicholas D. J. Baldwin, David Beamish, R. L. Borthwick, Jenny Brock, Gavin Drewry, Elizabeth Flood, Cliff Grantham, David Jones, David Miers, Douglas Millar, David Natzler, Michael Rush, Donald Shell When reform or abolition of the House of Lords is discussed assertions are frequently made about the relative value of its work; yet there has been little scholarly study of what it actually does.This book is the first to offer a systematic and comprehensive analysis of one complete session.
Written by a team of senior academics and officers of both Houses of Parliament, it evaluates every aspect of the activity of the House, including its membership, the treatment of legislation, debates and questions, and select committee work, and contains detailed statistics of sittings and divisions.This thorough and authoritative account will be essential reading for all serious students of the British Parliament, and for all who wish to enter the debate about the future of the House of Lords.

'meticulous study'
London Review of Books

`a portrait of a decorous, verbose political eunuch ... Shell and Beamish, assisted by eleven other members of the Study of Parliament Group ... have done an admirable job, showing why further study of the contemporary Lords would be otiose.'
Andrew Adonis, Times Literary Supplement

`it contains a detailed statement of the workings of the House both in its more and less conspicuous capacities ... a very detailed book ... This book will undoubtedly be the standard work on the House of Lords for a good many years to come'
Political Studies

`a well-written volume.
It also contains a wealth of statistical and other data'
Public Administration

`will add to the reputation of the Study of Parliament Group ... The House of Lords at Work, does two valuable things.
Almost every chapter contains a brief account of the ways particular parts of the procedures of the House work and then illustrates these procedures by reference to the events of one session ... useful additions to the literature on Parliament'
Public Law

'Shell and Beamish, The House of Lords, does two valuable things. Almost every chapter contains a brief account of the ways particular parts of the procedures of the House work and then illustrates these procedures by reference to the events of one session. In this way the work of the House in all its forms can be seen by way of what a biologist might call a cross-section. The picture is deliberately static but, as far as it goes, it is complete.'
J. Jacob, London School of Economics, Public Law, Winter 1993

'Shell and Beamish, assisted by eleven other members of the Study of Parliament Group ... have done an admirable job, showing why further study of the contemporary Lords would be otiose.'
Times Literary Supplement

'Shell and Beamish's meticulous study establishes that for all its pretensions and protestations, the House of Lords isn't really all that good at what it does.'
London Review of Books

'a well-organised survey, with a series of lucid thematic chapters ... It is hard to see another study of such fullness being undertaken for many years and so, long after the session of 1988-89 would otherwise have faded into the mists of time, its incidents and events will be returned to as evidence and argument. There are many different views of the Lords, not a few of which are based more upon emotion than empirical evidence. It is by providing the latter in
clear, dispassionate and unprejudiced form that this thorough and illuminating case study performs its greatest service both to the community of scholars and to the wider public interest.'
Stuart Ball, University of Leicester, Contemporary Record, Vol. 7, No. 3, December 1993

`Shell and Beamish, The House of Lords, does two valuable things.
Almost every chapter contains a brief account of the ways particular parts of the procedures of the House work and then illustrates these procedures by reference to the events of one session.
In this way the work of the House in all its forms can be seen by way of what a biologist might call a cross-section.
The picture is deliberately static but, as far as it goes, it is
complete.'
Public Law

`Shell and Beamish's meticulous study establishes that for all its pretensions and protestations, the House of Lords isn't really all that good at what it does ... Shell and Beamish, assisted by eleven other members of the Study of Parliament Group ... have done an admirable job, showing why further study of the contemporary Lords would be otiose.'
Times Literary Supplement

`Shell and Beamish, The House of Lords, does two
valuable things.
Almost every chapter contains a brief account of the ways particular parts of the procedures of the House work and then illustrates
these procedures by reference to the events of one session.
In this way the work of the House in all its forms can be seen by way of what a biologist might call a
cross-section.
The picture is deliberately static but, as far as it goes, it is complete.'
Public Law