Welcome to the second of what may turn out to be, in decreasing order of likelihood, an occasional set of blog posts, the start of a regular series of blog posts, the birth of a new email list or the emerging first draft of my next book: some first impressions from the House of Lords, which I joined in February 2025.
One of the first things you are giving after joining the House of Lords is a pack of example maiden speeches given by other peers. It is a hard copy rather than an electronic document, in part perhaps because those who have very helpfully put it together do not want other peers checking up to see whether or not they have been included in it as a good example…!
It is a good example of the much improved induction programme for new peers that I have benefitted from. Chatting to those who joined years or decades ago, it is clear that a lot of effort has gone into expanding the induction support recently. Which means any mistakes I make are very much my own responsibility…
But I got to put the advice from that pack of speeches to use today as it was maiden speech time, in a debate about the future of news.
Being a long-term fan of email newsletters, I took the chance to talk about the welcome new wave of local news coverage coming from email newsletters. It is an important counterpoint to the decline in many areas of traditional local or regional news outlets.
As it was my maiden speech, a few thank yous were in order though first:
For more on my first impressions of the House of Lords, take a listen to my podcast with John Potter and you can read my previous post about the Chief Whip’s Ring Binder here.
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