I am not sure if I was the first to point out out that here may be a problem with "Welsh" Labour Leader hopeful Eluned Morgan also being a member of the House of Lords.
Back in September I wrote.
Well it seems Ms Morgan has identified the problem herself.
BBC Wakes reports that
The BBC reports that
Ms (or should I call her Lady) Morgan may well be confident if not of winning the "Welsh" leadership that however if she did then she could hold the position for over a decade and will not have to run back to the Lords is defeated.
Back in September I wrote.
Ms Morgan is also Baroness Morgan of Ely , so could be the first peer since the Marquis Salisbury in 1902 to head an elected legislature in the UK and the first to sit in two the Assembly and House of Lords.Note: Since then I have discovered that the now defunct Northern Ireland Parliament 1921-72 had Prime Ministers who were also members of the House of Lords.
The prospect of the First Minister in Wales going to the Lords to vote on a UK Parliamentary Bill, bill is intriguing and would through Constitutional commentators into a frenzy.
Amusing as it sounds, it does beg the question of whether you should be members of more than one legislative assembly.
It will be interesting if Ms Morgan states to make headway who will be first amongst the candidates supporters to point this out.
Well it seems Ms Morgan has identified the problem herself.
BBC Wakes reports that
Welsh Labour leadership candidate Eluned Morgan has said she will give up her peerage and title if she becomes first minister.But that is no reason to remain a member if she is now in another legislature .
She joined the House of Lords as Baroness Morgan of Ely in 2011.
Since 2014, peers have been able to resign from the House of Lords and keep their titles.
But she said she would drop hers, adding: "I am aware that many people in Wales would not wish someone with a title being in charge of the country.
"It's a difficult decision because I'm very proud of the work that I have done in the House of Lords: to help promote gay marriage, to fight the Trade Union Bill, to get new powers for Wales," Baroness Morgan told BBC Wales.
The BBC reports that
She said she believes the House of Lords is in need of reform, and that she would use her position as First Minister to promote the election of peers.But as Wings over Scotland pointed out only yesterday.
Labour's 2017 general election manifesto said the party had "a fundamental belief" that the second chamber in Parliament should be elected.
In the short term, Labour said it would "seek to end the hereditary principle" and would reduce the size of the Lords.
The result of the Labour leadership election will be announced on 6 December.
Labour have now been promising to abolish the Lords for around 110 years, including 37 years as the UK government.
Ms (or should I call her Lady) Morgan may well be confident if not of winning the "Welsh" leadership that however if she did then she could hold the position for over a decade and will not have to run back to the Lords is defeated.
Never-less will Ms Morgan seek to rejoin the Lords when she eventually leaves the Assembly probably joing the future "Lord Carwyn of Bridgend"?
She is of course not the only dual legislature Welsh politician. Baron Elis-Thomas, formally Dafydd Elis Thomas elected as a Plaid AM now sits alongside the said Baroness Morgan of Ely in the Welsh Government .
The Assembly now has the powers to rename itself and how it is elected, does it also have the power to forbid membership of other legislatures including both Houses in Westminster and perhaps local councils.
If they have the power they should use it.
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