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Take a seat in the Lords, as peers' blog opens the doors
IT was a move which sat oddly with the traditionally stuffy image of the House of Lords.
However, six weeks ago a group of computer literate peers decided to buck the usual stereotypes and join the growing army of internet bloggers.
The idea, met with bemusement from some members, was to increase public awareness of what actually goes on in the hallowed corridors of power and hopefully show that the upper house has its finger firmly on a fully beating pulse.
Yesterday, Labour's Lord Solely, one of the site's 10 committed and enthusiastic contributors, claimed an early victory, announcing the postings had already attracted 30,000 visitors and 600 comments.
It's probably a little churlish at this stage to point out that most of those comments come from the same handful of people, and, in truth many of the entries, part of a wider 4.8m initiative to make the House's work more accessible to the public, are nothing short of enlightening.
While some of the peers have chosen to highlight serious topics from the situation in Zimbabwe to the best way to improve the legislative system, others have grasped with both hands the opportunity to raise the pet hates clearly close to their hearts.
One intriguing posting comes from Lord Tyler. The Conservative peer was relected to the House in 1992 after an 18-year absence, during which he admits he had a "real job" and it seems took a masterclass in headline writing. Visitors could be forgiven for getting excited about one particular entry titled Dangerous: Poisonous Politics. Sadly, the article which follows is not an expos of the back-stabbing activities of his fellow peers, but a clarion call against sheep dip.
Apparently, Lord Tyler has been campaigning for the last 16 years against one specific kind of dip and its adverse effects on farmers' health. Despite taking the fight to the web, a happy ending is not yet in sight, but Lord Tyler will no doubt draw some comfort from the comments of a female supporter calling herself ladytizzy, who agrees the Government's lack of action simply "beggars belief".
Occasional rumours of elderly Lords dropping off during particularly tedious debates has not done the image of the House much good, and there are clearly some determined to prove their hardworking credentials.
Lord Norton already has a day job in the politics and international studies department of the University of Hull, but he has so far found the time to post 40 blogs on topics from the movable feast of Easter to the 50th anniversary of the Life Peerages Act.
Given that Lord Norton himself confesses that he was once named self-publicist of the year by the now-defunct Hull Free Press, his prolific blogging should probably come as no surprise. However, while it's not entirely clear why he felt it necessary to share with the public details of his family coat of arms, which, for the record, is accompanied by the motto "scholarship, endeavour and integrity", he does provide an illuminating guide to debate in the House.
"With all due respect," he says, can normally be translated as "That was rubbish" and when a peer responds to a colleague with "The noble lord makes an interesting point" apparently what they really mean is "I have no idea what the answer is".
Warming to Lord Norton's theme, Baroness Murphy takes the baton and runs with it. The former doctor is clearly a woman fond of telling it like it is, criticising the House's tendency for formal debate as "sterile and wholly predictable.
"There is also a distinct lack of what I call evidence-based statements," she says. "I have heard colleagues quote so-called research which would set any academic's teeth on edge.
"I have had the urge to stand up and shout, 'Lot of tosh', but the only way to challenge a formal debate is to rise decorously and ask, 'Could the noble lord/lady point us to the source our the information', which is invariably ignored."
Given that there was only one lonely comment to Baroness Murphy's complaints, it seems that even in a virtual House of Lords it's possible to feel overlooked.
However, with the blogging trial due to last six months, many of her colleagues are hoping that it will yet succeed in dragging peers into the 21st-century.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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