Good Governance

Hereditary nobles have sat in Britain’s Parliament for centuries. Their time may be up

LONDON (AP) — Like his ancestors for centuries, the Earl of Devon serves in Parliament, helping to make the laws of the land. But not for much longer.

Is the House of Lords Democratic

British lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve in principle a bill to strip hereditary aristocrats of the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords after more than 700 years. The Labour Party government says the decision will complete a long-stalled reform of Parliament’s upper chamber and remove an “outdated and indefensible” relic of the past.

“In the 21st century, there should not be places in our Parliament, making our laws, reserved for those who are born into certain families,” Constitution Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said Tuesday as he opened debate on the bill in the House of Commons.

He noted that Britain is one of only two countries — the other is Lesotho — with a hereditary element to its parliament.

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Sometimes when the cruise ships are in, we don’t even know they are here, Dockyard business owners say.

Heidi Cowen, administrator of the Dockyard Arts Centre, believes Bermuda needs to re-evaluate its cruise ship tourism industry.

“It is a very quiet in Dockyard,” she said. “The types of ships that are coming in need to be looked at again.”

Last month, Wayne Furbert, the Minister of Transport, said 120 cruise ship calls took place in the first three quarters of 2024 with another 57 listed to take place before the end of the year, bringing an estimated 548,064 passengers to the island.

Ms Cowen called these numbers “a great illusion”.

“Our cruise ship picture is not really the best,” she said.

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Juan Wolffe: community spirit needed to solve homelessness

Oct 12 2024 Hamilton Bermuda:

Speaking out: Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe delivers a presentation at the first Ending Homelessness Together conference (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

A Supreme Court judge called on the community yesterday to do more to help people who are homeless and said there was a risk that the issue could become the island’s legacy if further action was not taken.
Juan Wolffe spoke at the first Ending Homelessness Together conference, which was held at the Bermuda Industrial Union headquarters in Hamilton.
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