A History of the House of Lords

The late Lord Longford was a sometimes hot-headed Laborite, husband of writer Elizabeth Longford and father of noted popular historian Lady Antonia Fraser. He was Leader of the House of Lords more than once, served in several governments, and was an ardent foe of pornography -- and was also a favorite of the tabloids for some of his other reformist causes. Still, he was an hereditary peer and sat in the House for more than a half-century, and while he was dubious about its place in modern, semi-socialist Britain, he obviously had considerable affection for "the best club in the world." He begins by describing a typical day in the workings of the House, noting who attends and who doesn't, and trying to explain why party politics has less hold there than one might expect. Then he goes back to the Conquest to examine the roots of the institution in the feudal summonses issued by a succession of early kings. By 1377, the House was beginning to "settle down," just in time to become a force in the dynastic disputes between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians, and the roots of much of the aristocracy's wealth dates from Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries (their properties being parceled out to his favorites and supporters). The "Golden Years" came, he says, under the Hanoverians, which was followed by seventy-five years under the control of the Victorian Tories. The arrival of something resembling modern democracy in the 20th century led to great changes in the House, and the postwar Labor victory brought even more changes. But still, the long-threatened dissolution of the upper house, long an item in the Labor agenda, has yet to happen, and the author examines the possible reasons for that, too. While this is not at all a scholarly work, it's a very readable overview and introduction to an ancient British institution, the author's prejudices and bugbears notwithstanding.