The Lords. A Prominent and Active Peer Discusses the History of the House of Lords, Its Function and Its Role in the 20th Century

Hardback. First Edition. Title page removed. Previous owners name to inside cover. Slight shelf wear to edge of D/J. Foreword by The Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham of St. Marylebone. This book is a unique book, giving a vivid insight into the Upper House of the British Parliament as seen through the eyes of one of its most distinguished members who for seventeen years has played an extremely active role in the House of Lords. There have been several books on the history and procedure of the Lords but these have usually lacked the practical experience of a working peer and can therefore do no more than recite facts as seen from the outside. Lord Massereene draws aside the veil of ,ystery that still separates the Lords from the British public and attempts to dispel many of the misconceptions and prejudices long fostered about this body politic. The book provides essential facts and figures and brings out the human side of the House by means of anecdotes and opinions drawn from the author's long experience in the British Parliament. While the backgtround of the history of the House is briefly recounted, the emphasis is on the Lords during the changing years since 1968 - the lords of today. Convinced of the vital need and role of a second House of Parliament if the freedom of the individual in a true democracy is to survive in Britain, Lord Massereene discusses with fervour the pros and cons of various proposals for reform of the Lords and chronicles in detail the abortive attempt at Reform embarked on by Mr. Wilson's Socialist Government in 1969. This book is illustrated with political cartoons, old prints and photographs. 287 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions ,and all types of Academic Literature.).…