Peers under pressure: how to reform Britain’s House of Lords | Letters
Jenny Jones is right to argue for reform of the House of Lords (Peter Mandelson is fleeing the House of Lords: now let’s throw out all the other rogues and idlers, 4 February).But can I offer a word of caution?There is talk of remaking the Lords as another elected chamber.I think that would be a mistake.It would generate a competing democratic mandate, which is the last thing we need (just look at the US if you need proof).What is required is a chamber devoted to scrutiny (of draft legislation and executive action), advice and accountability in public office.
Its members should be experts in their field, people of proven ability, untrammelled by party allegiance, nominated by the public but chosen by Commons free vote, and should hold office for a fixed term of five years.The chamber would not be able to defeat Commons legislation, but could delay it for the purpose of proper scrutiny.The Commons, too, would need to accept change.To put the executive back in its place, they would have to abolish whipping, take back control of the timetable and undertake to give due consideration to what the hopefully re-named Lords (how about “Senate” instead?) advised, rather than acting as a rubber stamp for the executive.Who knows? In a few years we could actually achieve representative democracy.
Chris HouseHertford Jenny Jones is of course quite right to say that a better way must be found to select members of an essential second house, but even if you posited holding a general election as a selection process, someone would have to propose the names on the voting papers.A respected group is needed to make the proposals: it might eventually be the job of the privy council, but currently there is little reason for voters to trust any proposals that that group would make.There is only one group of people who might have sufficient respect from the voters, and these are a few of the female members of the royal family – sorry to add to your workload, Anne, but you’re younger than me.John Davenport Kenley, London Jenny Jones’s thoughts on the House of Lords and its occupants remind me why it has long been my opinion that the only members of the House of Lords who should not be ejected are the hereditary and the episcopal peers still present.They alone are not there due to political patronage, or to their having made party political donations; they alone may be hoped to hold an objective and principled view of such legislation as comes their way.
Eject every last life peer from the House of Lords; retain only the hereditary and episcopal peers.Robert DewarKinlochleven, Inverness-shire The Green peer Jenny Jones attests to her own conscientiousness and that of some others, but ends her piece by saying it’s way past time to abolish the House of Lords and “urgently replace it with something elected and modern”.I hope that several of our political parties have their blueprints ready.The combined scandal of the Peter Mandelson revelations and the deliberate filibuster of the assisted dying bill means that the end of the House of Lords, in its present unelected form, must now be very close.When the latter bill falls, public outrage against the Lords will be unsurpassed.
Nick WattsKettering, Northamptonshire Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Moroccan lamb filo pie and rhubarb panna cotta: Thomasina Miers’ Sunday best recipes
There is little as pleasing to cook in the depths of the winter as a pot of enticingly fragrant, slow-braised meat. A shoulder of lamb is one of my favourite cuts; you, or a friendly butcher, will need to trim away its excess fat, a job that will reward you with an exquisite flavour that marries beautifully with bold spicing. Here, we travel to Morocco, with sweetly aromatic ginger, turmeric and cinnamon, and follow that with cardamom, cream and rhubarb for pudding. A sumptuous, colourful feast to stave off any February blues.Many elements of this dish, with its falling apart, richly seasoned lamb and carrots encased in crisp, golden pastry, can be made the day before
Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for creamy chicken and mustard fricassee | Quick and easy
This is a one-pan dinner at its finest: elegant and full of flavour, something that feels as if it has taken more effort and time than it actually has, and versatile in its finish – serve with creamy mash, fluffy rice, boiled potatoes; even hunks of fresh baguette would be wonderful for mopping up the creamy mustard sauce. I use whatever veg is in season: purple sprouting broccoli is at its best right now, but you could add stalks of rainbow chard, shredded cavolo nero, even halved baby carrots. Play around with whatever veg you have and love.If you can’t find mustard powder, feel free to use your mustard of choice – wholegrain would work well here.Prep 5 min Cook 30 min Serves 44 skin-on chicken breasts (about 160g each)Sea salt and black pepper 2 tsp English mustard powder 1 tbsp olive oil 200g purple sprouting broccoli 30g unsalted butter 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp aleppo pepper 2½ tbsp plain flour 125ml dry white wine 500ml chicken stock 200ml single creamPut the chicken breasts on a deep plate and season generously
Red lentils, and lamb and barley: Ilhan Mohamed Abdi’s soup recipes for Iftar
There is nothing quite like that first bite after a long day of fasting. It’s quiet, intentional and deeply comforting. The stillness just before sunset gives way to movement – the table being laid, the clinking of glasses, the pause as everyone waits for the call to prayer. Then, with a date in hand and water on the tongue, the fast is broken. That moment never loses its meaning, no matter how many times you experience it
RecipeTin Eats founder farewells Dozer the golden retriever: ‘I will love you and miss you forever’
Nagi Maehashi, the celebrated cook behind RecipeTin Eats, has announced the death of her beloved canine companion, Dozer, on Sunday, saying the cover star of her bestselling cookbooks would be missed “forever”.Dozer, a golden retriever, was Maehashi’s supporting star on her hyper-popular cooking blog and featured in many images and stories in her two books: Tonight and Dinner. Dinner was released in 2023, and became the fastest-selling cookbook in Australian publishing history. Maehashi’s blog receives more than 500 million hits each year.On social media, Maehashi said Dozer, who was 13, was hospitalised at the vet in January with a lung infection, which was complicated by his older age and existing medical conditions
How to cook the perfect brigadeiros for Valentine’s Day – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to cook the perfect …
If you’re not au fait with these soft, chocolatey treats, you clearly haven’t spent much time in Brazil, where, in the words of blogger Olivia Mesquita, they’re national treasures, “a must-have at special celebrations, from kids’ parties to weddings”. As content creator Camila Hurst puts it, “It’s basically not a party without them.” Quick and simple to make from everyday ingredients, they’re also an ideal last-minute gift for someone you love.Older recipes tend to call for hot chocolate powder, but plain cocoa powder makes for a less intensely sweet result. Mesquita’s book, Authentic Brazilian Home Cooking, uses dark chocolate, and TV chef Leticia Moreinos Schwartz suggests combining the two
Cylla, Birmingham: ‘Maybe the best potato side dish being served in the UK today’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Punchy cocktails and roaringly traditional Greek food in the heart of BirminghamCylla, a classy Greek restaurant on Newhall Street, Birmingham, draws inspiration, it says, from Scylla, the legendary Greek man-eating sea monster that lives close to the whirlpools of Charybdis. She’s a beautiful woman, but has six dog heads, all grumpy and snarling, as well as a serpent’s tail.If Scylla herself were ever to turn up at Cylla, dogs’ heads barking and tail flapping, they’d have to seat her in one of the gorgeous private booths at the front as you enter the room. These are the spots to grab if you want a little privacy, which is why we eschewed the long, prettily lit cocktail bar and headed straight to this cosy hidey-hole for a round of Poseidon’s Wrath. “It’s a bit like a dirty martini,” explained our server, who was one of those warm, bright, commanding, knowledgable souls who, in a hospitality setting, is worth her weight in drachma
Scottish rocket startup nears collapse despite £26m in taxpayer loans
US added 130,000 jobs in January, surpassing expectations as 2025 growth is slashed
US jobs report beats forecasts with 130,000 increase in January – as it happened
Will the government finally deliver a housing policy that stops making a bad situation worse? | Greg Jericho
Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK
Heineken to cut 6,000 jobs as people drink less beer