Arise my Lords and Ladies

So, the first appointments to the House of Lords under the Liberal Democrat - Conservative coalition government and the last before it is replaced with a democratically elected upper chamber.

The list of the new Liberal Democrat Peers is as below;

Floella Benjamin OBE DL – actor, presenter and campaigner for children’s issues

Mike German OBE AM – former Deputy First Minister (Wales)

Meral Hussein Ece OBE – Local Government Councillor in Islington, advocate of equality issues

Sir Kenneth (Ken) Macdonald QC – former Director of Public Prosecutions

Kathryn (Kate) Jane Parminter – former Chief Executive of Campaign to Protect Rural England

John Shipley OBE – leading Local Government Councillor in Newcastle upon Tyne
 
and the dissolution list;
 
Richard Allan – former MP for Sheffield Hallam and Chair of the Information Select Committee

Matthew Owen John Taylor – former MP for Truro and St Austell, Chair of National Housing Federation

George Philip (Phil) Willis – former MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Former Chair of Science and Technology Select Committee
 
For the full and comprehensive list of the 56 working Peers visit 10 Downing Street.

Peter Mandelson's resignation forces Harriet Harman to reshuffle

Yesterday as the world watched the new Liberal Democrat - Conservative coalition government announce the full details of the coalition agreement, Alex Salmond shouting at Iain Gray or even Annabel Goldie moving deck chairs around there were two quiet resignations.

Lords Peter Mandelson and Andrew Adonis yesterday both quit the Labour shadow cabinet.

On any other day these resignations would have been major news, I have to confess I didn't even notice them despite being on twitter and having my nose in the news websites all day.

What is also surprising is the, quite honestly pathetic, reasons given for them quitting.

Labour said it was "very difficult" to act as a shadow cabinet minister from the House of Lords.


WHAT!?

How is it possible to be more difficult now as a shadow minister than when they were the actual cabinet ministers?
 
When it suited Labour to have the Government Ministers sitting in the House of Lords it seemed to work fine, now it no longer suits them, the shadow ministers jump like rats jumping from a sinking ship.
 
I am sorry this is more about Peter Mandelson retiring from Labour politics isn't it?  He realises that because of the new politics of the coalition government, Labour are now going to be out in the wilderness for at least a decade and he doesn't want to hang around that long.
 
I suppose he can look back with pride, this is the third time he has quit front bench politics, however it is the first time it was his own choice though.

Chris Rennard joins two front bench teams in the House of Lords

There’s been a small reshuffle of the Liberal Democrat team in the House of Lords. The main change is that Chris Rennard has joined the front bench teams for both Constitutional Affairs and for Communities & Local Government.

This change will add some serious experience to these two teams.

Other changes included Sue Miller stepping down from Home Affairs, who has been replaced by Sally Hamwee and Graham Tope takes over at Communities & Local Government.