Here's one for anyone organising a Westminster trivia pub quiz. Who was the last peer allowed to address MPs in the House of Commons chamber?
According to a report published today, it was the Duke of Wellington, in 1814. He was allowed in so that MPs could express their thanks to him for his service in the Napoleonic wars.
The MPs on the business select committee want Lord Mandelson to be allowed to follow his example, not because they plan to celebrate his own achievements in Europe, but because they are angry about a peer running an important government department not being accountable to MPs at the dispatch box in the Commons chamber.
As they admit in their report, the situation is not unprecedented. Since 1979 five other peers have run government departments (Lord Carrington, Foreign Office; Lord Cockfield, trade; Lord Young, employment, then trade; Lady Amos, international development; Lord Falconer, constitutional affairs, then justice). But that doesn't mean they think it should be allowed to continue.
The obvious solution, and the neatest, would be to the amend standing orders to allow the secretary of state to answer questions at the dispatch box. But this may encourage governments to appoint more members of the House of Lords as heads of department, and that would be an unwelcome and significant constitutional change. Detailed discussion about a mechanism for parliamentary questions to the secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform is best taken forward by the procedure committee. However, we are convinced such a mechanism is needed, particularly at a time of such economic turmoil.
The government will issue a formal response in due course, but I'm told there is no enthusiasm for the committee's idea. If Mandelson wants to follow in the footsteps of the Duke of Wellington, he may have to wait a little longer.
