"Barron, aren't you going to run for the House of Lords?"
"I don't think it's necessary, Your Highness. After all, the House of Lords has become the most luxurious nursing home in the world. Other than that, I don't see what other uses it has."
Hearing Barron's words, the Crown Prince frowned slightly. After all, although what he said was true, the decline of the entire aristocracy and the royal family was always a sad thing.
"Maybe not. At least with this title, it will be easier for me to intervene in many things... and at the very least, I can create some trouble for some people."
During the reign of Queen Victoria, more than 7,000 aristocratic families owned 80% of the country's land and occupied 431 hereditary seats in the House of Lords, now the House of Lords.
But since the mid-19th century, due to parliamentary reforms and inheritance tax adjustments, the British aristocracy has gradually declined in political status and finances.
On October 26, 1999, the House of Lords of the British Parliament passed the House of Lords Reform Bill proposed by the Labour Party government, thus coming to an end the political privileges that the aristocracy had enjoyed for hundreds of years.
It can be said that the Prime Minister's drastic reforms to the House of Lords were mainly to kick out most of the hereditary peers from the House of Lords - there are now no more than 100 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, and the remaining 700 senators are life peers. It can be said that life peers occupy the vast majority of the House of Lords.
In fact, members of the House of Lords serve for life, while members of the House of Commons are elected every five years.
For a duke like Barron, if he wants to join the hospital, he will be 100% approved, even though he is only 23 years old.
It's just that Barron didn't have much interest in this before. After all, at that time in Britain, the average age of members of the House of Lords was 69, far exceeding the average age of 50 members of the House of Commons. No wonder Barron called it a nursing home.
This is the situation after the reform. Before that, a large number of hereditary nobles occupied the House of Lords. Most of the nobles entered the House of Lords just for a nice title and hundreds of pounds of subsidies for each meeting of the House of Lords...
As for the power of the House of Lords...
For nearly a century the consensus in British politics has been that the House of Commons is supreme - that is, it has the final say on all important issues because its members are elected.
The powers left to the House of Lords are already few and seldom exercised.
The House of Commons initiates issues, while the House of Lords oversees them.
In most cases, the House of Lords can only delay legislation for a limited number of times and periods - as a result, over the 20th century, the House of Lords has been effectively passive and subordinate to the House of Commons.
As for the purpose of the current prime minister's strong reform of the House of Lords, it is not just to save government finances, at least this is not the main purpose.
The deeper reason is that most hereditary aristocrats belong to the Conservative Party. Canceling the Lords qualifications of most hereditary aristocrats means that the House of Lords is no longer controlled by the Conservative Party.
However, there were compromises involved, otherwise it would not have been so smooth - canceling the qualifications of most hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords does not mean that the House of Lords becomes a parliament controlled by the Prime Minister's Labour Party.
It is true that life peers are often nominated by the government, but the various factions have reached a consensus that the number of life peers must reflect the approximate proportion of political parties in the House of Commons.
"In fact, we are ready to change the current situation of inaction in the House of Lords..."
After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince explained softly to Barron, he finally understood some details.
Some nobles, including the royal family, who want to make a difference, do not want the House of Lords to become a mere decoration.
They believe that many members of the House of Lords have rich professional knowledge and experience, and that no party can gain an advantage in the House of Lords at this time. These are advantages that allow the House of Lords to play a greater role in some issues.
You know, although members of the House of Commons are elected, this also creates a problem. That is, if the government itself is elected, then the House of Commons will often be dominated by one party. For example, if the Labour Party is in power at this time, the Labour Party also holds a majority in the House of Commons. In this way, when facing the government, the House of Commons is too docile and cannot play any supervisory role at all.
Therefore, at this time, neutral forces in Britain, including aristocrats and some scholars, hope to revive the House of Lords so that it can improve the quality of legislation and become a better supervisory and review body.
"I know you had no interest in these things before, but Barron, economics and politics cannot exist independently. They will affect each other."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said to him earnestly:
"You can learn more about these from Gerald."
The Duke of Westminster?
Today, Barron attended a cocktail party hosted by the Duke of Westminster at his residence in London. It seems that he is one of those who is unwilling to be "idle" in the House of Lords.
But this is normal. The Duke, who is currently serving in the military, also hopes to make a difference in politics.
Moreover, as the family with the most wealth among the British aristocracy, it represents the interests of many aristocrats.
…
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince talked to you for a long time, Your Royal Highness the Duke."
"Yes, he thinks I am too apolitical and wants me to participate in the House of Lords. What do you think of this, Your Excellency?"
After Barron separated from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Ian Butt came to his side with a glass of wine - Viscount Butt was also among the guests invited today.
"This is not something I need to consider at the moment, because my father is a member of the House of Lords. I guess I will join it after I inherit the title."
This is the reality. Compared with those hereditary peers who "inherit" seats in the House of Lords, those who are later awarded life peers are probably more concerned about the House of Lords.
After all, everyone understands that it is probably too difficult for hereditary aristocrats to influence certain issues through the House of Lords.
"Why, are you going to join the House of Lords? It's not difficult, or it just depends on your thinking."
"I'm still thinking about it, you know, I'm not really interested in it."
While Barron was chatting with Viscount Bute, someone came over to start a conversation:
"Hello, Duke Cavendish, Viscount Bute, I am Emma Manners, from the Rutland family. I have visited Chatsworth House before, it is really beautiful."
This is a pretty lady with short blond hair and looks very capable.
Emma Manners pulled a pretty little girl and said to them,
"By the way, this is my daughter Violet, she is nine years old."
"Hello, Duchess, it's an honor to meet you."
At first, Barron felt that the Rutland family sounded familiar. After Ian Butt's words, he finally remembered that the Rutland family was a family with a long history in England, but he had never dealt with them before.
"I remember playing at Haddon Manor when I was a kid. That's your family's business, right, Duchess?"
"Yes, Haddon Manor belongs to our family. It is also located in Derbyshire and is a neighbor of your Chatsworth Manor, but it is currently managed by my husband's brother Edward."