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From: "Al Magary" <>
Subject: The history is long but is coming to an end
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 00:09:17 -0800


Tony Blair confirmed, says the Telegraph today, that the
government will begin moving to unseat the remaining 92
hereditary peers from the House of Lords, the others having been
tossed out in 1999. This is on the eve of the virtual end of
the office of Lord Chancellor, which has existed for some 1,200
years. This has been coming for some time; updates at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/track.jhtml?aT=EMLNK&emTy=new_2911&nxt=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/29/nfalc29.xml
(or http://tinyurl.com/wyv5) and click on the sidebar links.

There are some ancient family names on the list of current
members of the House of Lords, and even more ancient titles:
Duke of Norfolk, Duke of Montrose, Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of
Caithness, Earl of Crawford, Earl Ferrers, Earl of Mar, Lord
Dacre, Lord Mowbray, Lord Willoughby de Broke...and among the
lords spiritual the Archbishops of Canterbury and York...and
names of more recent vintage like Attenborough and Astor, Atlee
and Thatcher and Archer (the novelist, just released from
prison), many of whom are life peers. Lists at
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldinfo/a-z.htm and
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld/102.htm

The Daily Mail recently reported that the peers who lost their
places in the House of Lords are going to sue the government for
one million pounds damages--each. Their leader, Lord Mereworth,
said, "Our forebears and their descendants were given the right
to sit in Parliament for ever."
http://www.burkes-peerage.net/sites/common/news/news150103.asp

Cheers,
Al Magary

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