In the News, Friday 10 February

Author: James Graham

Rumours that the government will shortly be making a new set of appointments to the House of Lords continue to abound.  Speaking in the House of Lords yesterday, Lord Forsyth speculated that this was a ploy by the Prime Minister to discredit the Lords and thus get his reforms through.  Channel 4 News' Political Correspondent Michael Crick has criticised the government's secrecy over appointments while the Labour leader in the Lords Baroness Royall has said it amounts to "packing the house".]

Falklands War veteran Simon Weston has announced his intention to stand for the new South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner while John Prescott has confirmed his intention to stand for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside.

The government has responded to its consultation on its plans for introducing individual voter registration.  It has capitulated on its plans to not hold a full electoral canvass in 2014 and is considering dropping its plans to allow people to opt out of registration. The news has generally been welcomed, but the Electoral Commission and Electoral Reform Society have both called for more clarity over what the government plans to replace its proposed "opt out" rules with (see also Unlock Democracy's response yesterday).

Ed Miliband has called for the weekly Prime Minister's Questions to be reformed.

The BBC's Freedom of Information specialist Martin Rosenbaum has reported that the Department for Education is now more than three months late in responding to a freedom of information request about internal government guidance on the use of personal email accounts.