Lords of Parliament : Manners, Rituals and Politics

by Emma Crewe

• ISBN13: 9780719072062
• ISBN10: 0719072069
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2005-10-21
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

This work marks the first time a researcher has had largely unlimited access, and every significant aspect of the Upper Chamber has been scrutinized. The result is a unique portrait, packed with the unexpected, of a surprising institution which is becoming increasingly influential. Meticulous scholarship is combined with clarity in explanation to produce a work that helps to bridge the gap between anthropology and political science.

Author Biography

Emma Crewe is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Anthropology, University College London, a Research Associate at Warwick University, and a research and policy consultant working in international development in South Asia and Africa.

Table of Contents

List of tables	vi
List of figures	vii
Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
Note on the text	xii
Background: an outline of composition, powers and culture in the House of Lords	1	(7)
Kind words and coronets	8	(20)
Performing like a peer	28	(14)
Restless natives	42	(28)
A social directory	70	(23)
Hierarchies	93	(13)
Are peers equal?	106	(24)
Parties and Cross-benchers	130	(30)
The usual channels	160	(23)
Rules and rituals	183	(20)
Men in tights	203	(19)
Opening up Parliament	222	(33)
Appendices
A chronology of reform in the Lords 1998--2004	239	(2)
Research methodology	241	(7)
Glossary of places, words and phrases	248	(7)
Index	255