Jason Loch 🏳️‍🌈

92 hereditary peers are set to lose their seats as a 'temporary' compromise that endured for over a quarter of a century comes to an end. You can read my thoughts on the bill and why comprehensive Lords reform will likely remain elusive here. venerablepuzzle.wordpress.com/2026/03/17/fro…

@mitch_mishyy Wikipedia has this, though I don't know how complete it is: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_p…

@JasonLoch I seem to recall you, or perhaps someone else, having a whole list of removals, but I can't find it again :(

Removal from the Privy Council, 18th-century style [PC 2/127]. Since each volume of the Privy Council Register began with a list of Privy Counsellors, Flood's name was struck out multiple times (though it was left untouched in some of the earlier lists). 1/2

@legalstyleblog @tc1415 As far as I'm aware, they're synonyms.

@tc1415 @JasonLoch It seems they should have different meanings but the usage here seems completely the same as "Her Majesty in Right of the United Kingdom"

Alberta First Nations actually sued in England to assert that the treaty obligations with them were still owed by Her Majesty in Right of Her Gov't in the United Kingdom, not Canada (distrusting the forthcoming 1982 Act), looking to the Crown as guarantor.

Flood's removal was likely a consequence of his support for free trade as well as his calls for the Irish Parliament to have greater legislative autonomy. 2/2

@AViewtoTheBar That would make sense given the role doesn't seem to have existed in 2011.

@JasonLoch I think it dates from 2013. Harry Carter held the role for about ten years. Michael Padfield (now at AGO) did it from 2023, until Mike took over last year. While not, technically, part of the AGO the role is closely linked to AGO.

Today I learned there is a person with the title of "General Counsel to the Prime Minister" at No. 10. I've never encountered this title before--does anyone know if it's a recent invention?

@legalstyleblog That could well be the case.

@JasonLoch a sort of "department of war" thing where you just start calling things something without changing anything ;)

@legalstyleblog It doesn't seem to have existed in 2011, so perhaps it emerged sometime in the mid-2010s. If that's the case, it could explain why I haven't encountered the title before given that the bulk of papers from that era haven't been released yet.

@JasonLoch "General Counsel in No 10 is the more usual phrasing?"

@AskThePatrick @legalstyleblog Hereditary peers who were removed in 1999 currently have the right to sit on the Steps of the Throne following a recommendation from the Select Committee on the House of Lords' Offices. In theory, something similar could be done to establish a more general right.

@legalstyleblog Could they be given seats on the Steps of the Throne by Standing Order of the House? Or is it in the gift of the Crown? After all, hereditary peers are the successors of the Magnum Consilium, just as Privy Counselors, who do get such seats, are successors of the small Council.

At minimum, every hereitary peer should have the full right to speak in the House and contribute to the debate, but without right to vote. A good and reasoned compromise retaining their incalculable value and dedication (see Blackstone, Bagehot, Cicero)

@DrFrancisYoung You could send it on spec I imagine, though I have a feeling it might end up in the trash can rather than the King's red box!

@JasonLoch Can you just send your CV on spec or do you have to wait for the King to request it? I’d quite like to be a Regius Professor

Letter from the FCDO to the Palace seeking the King's informal approval for Mandelson's appointment along with a CV. I'm told the practice of submitting CVs to the Palace started after His Majesty's accession and they were not customary under the late Queen.

@AskThePatrick It feels very American/corporate. I also wonder how they interact with the Government's many other legal advisers.

@JasonLoch That is a terrible title for somebody in government. At the very least, it should be "Attorney General to the Prime Minister".

@rja_carnegie Eton was founded by Henry VI. Initially, the Provost was elected by the Fellows, but the Crown eventually claimed the right to appoint him. In time, the Fellows started electing the Crown's nominees, though the Crown's power of nomination wasn't soldified until the 19th century.

@JasonLoch Yes, does the king own Eton and I wasn't told? I'm not cross - not yet - just surprised.

Stanley Baldwin's submission to Edward VIII regarding Lord Hugh Cecil's appointment as Provost of Eton [PREM 5/586/6].

@rja_carnegie Are you asking why they're appointed by the Crown?

@JasonLoch Found elsewhere - "The provost at Eton College is the chairman of the governing body and is appointed by the Crown" (there's a committee). My question is, why?

@fintantweets It had remarkable staying power. They were still using it into the 60s.

@JasonLoch I like the logo of the PM's office during this period. Shame it was dropped.

Double countersignatures are rare except in the case of Lords Commissioners of the Treasury (who always sign in pairs). 5/5

It's also countersigned by the NI Secretary, though his signature doesn't appear in the usual place. The second Warrant is simpler than the first since there's no docket. It's also countersigned by both the NI Secretary and the Lord Chancellor. 4/5

Two Warrants directing the Northern Ireland Secretary to pass documents under the Great Seal of Northern Ireland. The first is for Letters Patent conferring the status of a City upon Bangor while the second is for Letters Patent appointing a High Court Judge. 1/5