Futures 38 (2006) 115119

www.elsevier.com/locate/futures

Reflections

The House of Lords: Guardians of future generations

Bruce Tonna,*, Michael Hoganb
a

Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee, McClung Tower,

Room 1018, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
b
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Available online 10 August 2005

There is tremendous need for more futures-oriented governance by almost every

country on earth. The United Kingdom is no exception. It faces numerous serious
challenges that could threaten the viability of British society and could even threaten the
continued inhabitation of the British Isles. Global climate change may lead to the ravaging
of the coasts through a combination of more numerous and stronger storms and increased
sea levels.1 It has been argued that global climate change has already resulted in severe
increases in precipitation and flooding in parts of England [4]. Global warming has already
had a deadly impact on the health of people living on the Continent, especially France [1].
Higher temperatures and drought conditions could have severe impacts on agriculture in
the United Kingdom. In a worst case scenario, global warming could lead to the melt of
enough Arctic ice fast enough to alter the current of the North Atlantic Ocean, which could
actually lead to much colder temperatures in Northern Europe [7]. This situation could
also cripple agriculture throughout the British Isles.
Global climate change is only one long-term threat to the United Kingdom [8]. In the
not too distant future, most countries in the world will have to deal with sharp increases in
the cost of energy and probably deal with steady declines in its supply. The United
Kingdoms North sea oil reserves may run dry by the end of this century [5]. Increasing
use of coal will only exacerbate global climate change. Foresight, wisdom and long-term
planning will be needed to deal with the energy issue. Confronting global economic
competition while attempting to also achieve a high degree of self-sufficiency in energy,
food, and other essentials will be especially challenging for the United Kingdom.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C1 865 974 4552; fax: C1 865 974 7041.
E-mail address: btonn@utk.edu (B. Tonn).
1
Visit http://www.foresight.gov.uk for more information about in the impacts of climate change on the coasts
of England.

0016-3287/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.futures.2005.04.007

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Other issues that must be addressed over the longer-term include an aging population,
possible decrease in overall population, threats due to pathogens crossing over
from animal populations to infect humans, housing, genetic/biological modification,
protecting humans and animals from new pathogens, invasive species, and international
terrorism.
It is not argued here that the United Kingdom is completely ignoring all these issues.
For example, the United Kingdom has stated its intention of reducing carbon dioxide
emissions by 20% by the year 2010 [2]. What is being argued, however, is that it is difficult
for conventional representative government to adequately deal with futures-oriented
issues [3]. The House of Commons, like the United States Congress, is designed as a forum
to deal with todays problems and find solutions to benefit those who are dealing with
todays problems. The House of Commons allocates resources according the self-interests
of todays representatives and their constituents. Pressures to respond to immediate needs
to maintain the support of ones constituency in order to ensure re-election are very
powerful. It is much more difficult in these forums to advocate the interests and allocate
resources to the benefit of future generations. Ultimately, though, countries that do not
seriously address the longer-term future will only survive by chance. Humanity will not
survive into the distant future, either, unless we collectively take the future more seriously.
The House of Lords is quite different from the House of Commons. The House of Lords
came into being around 800 years ago. It was composed of powerful landowners and
leaders of the church. The House of Lords was convened by the Royal government at its
pleasure to offer counsel and resources to the Throne. Its role in British society has been
debated almost continuously since its inception. Its power has been substantially reduced
over the centuries as the House of Commons has become the pre-eminent legislative
institution. In fact, the Parliament Act of 1911 gave the House of Commons the right to
overrule House of Lords rejection of the formers Bills. The Parliament Act of 1949
provides the current framework that allows a Bill not supported by the House of Lords to
become law if passed by the House of Commons on its Second Reading. Thus, the House
of Lords can delay but not stop legislation.
A recent Royal Commission undertook another review of the role of the House of Lords
in British society. [6] This Commission found that the House of Lords still has a critical
role to play. In its Executive Summary, the Commission finds that the House of Lords
should have these four main roles:
It should bring a range of different perspectives to bear on the development of public
policy.
It should be broadly representative of British society. People should be able to feel that
there is a voice in Parliament for the different aspects of their personalities, whether
regional, vocational, ethnic, professional, cultural or religious, expressed by a person or
persons with whom they can identify.
It should play a vital role as one of the main checks and balances within the unwritten
British constitution. Its role should be complementary to that of the House of Commons
in identifying points of concern and requiring the Government to reconsider or justify
its policy intentions. If necessary, it should cause the House of Commons to think again.
The second chamber should engender second thoughts.

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It should provide a voice for the nations and regions of the United Kingdom at the
centre of public affairs.
This view of the value of the House of Lords to British society fits exceeding well with
the thesis of this paper, that the House of Lords should accept responsibility for vigorously
overseeing that the actions of the House of Commons and the Government to protect the
future well-being of the heirs of the United Kingdom. It is expected that the House of
Lords should bring different perspectives to bear on public policy. The House of Lords
ought to prompt the House of Commons and Government to rethink their actions as
necessary. Indeed, further along in the Executive Summary, the Commission states that the
House of Lords should contain members with the ability to take a long-term view.
There are many reasons to urge the House of Lords to accept responsibility for
protecting the future well-being of the heirs of the United Kingdom. These include:
It is the original protector of the heirs of the Commonwealth.
It is also the Court of last resort with respect to constitutional matters in British society.
It can be argued that the House of Lords is the ultimate forum for concerns about to
future generations to be heard.
In recent decades, it has become much less partisan that the House of Commons.
Its members, known as Peers, have much wider range of expertise than found in the
House of Commons.
In recent decades, the Peers have become a very diverse group.
Accepting the responsibility for protecting the future well-being of the heirs of the
United Kingdom fits well with the recent broadening of its agenda to include more
social issues.
It could also be argued that hereditary Peers may have some predisposition to consider
the long-term and in fact recent evidence suggests that the Peers have become more
socially active.
The House of Lords has relatively more time than does the House of Commons to
devote to public hearings and committee meetings to thoroughly debate the subject of
the long-term future of the United Kingdom.
It has been much more active and professional in recent years. Annual hours of
meetings and sessions are much increased as well as has been attendance.
The House of Lords can accept the responsibility for vigorously overseeing that the
actions of the House of Commons and the Government protect the future well-being of the
heirs of the United Kingdom without any legislative action.2 This is because the United
Kingdom does not have a written constitution and because the House of Lords has the right
to set its own agenda and arrange its own processes. It is suggested that the House of Lords
establish a Special Committee on the Future of the United Kingdom to hold hearings and
advise the entire House of Lords. The Special Committee on the Future should prepare
2

This unlike the United States, where an amendment to the Constitution would be needed to create the Court of
Generations: B. Tonn, The court of generations: a proposed amendment to the US constitution, Futures, 23 (5)
(1991) 482498.

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B. Tonn, M. Hogan / Futures 38 (2006) 115119

periodic comprehensive reviews, no less than every 5 years, of all government actions to
determine whether in total they are protecting the future well-being of the heirs of the
United Kingdom. Also, the Committee should review specific House of Commons
legislative proposals for their consistency with the goal of protecting the future well-being
of the heirs of the United Kingdom. The Special Committee on the Future would then
report back to the entire House of Lords with its findings.
At this point, the entire House of Lords may decide to exercise its oversight
responsibilities if the Peers judge that the House of Commons and the Government are not
protecting the future well-being of the heirs of the United Kingdom. The House of Lords,
to engender second thoughts, could fail to approve legislation to fund government
programs if the entirety of government actions fails to be sufficiently futures-oriented. The
House of Lords could also fail to approve more specific House of Commons Legislative
proposals. As mentioned above, the House of Commons has the power to override any
House of Lords veto after a Second Reading. But by then, the issues would have been
made very public. Discourse about the future of the United Kingdom would have been
generated throughout the country. It is assumed that this discourse would lead to improved
public policy vis-a-vis the future, maybe not immediately but eventually. To maintain an
aire non-partisanship and morality, it is not recommended that the House of Lords
generate new legislation of its own to rectify the perceived myopia of the House of
Commons and the Government.
A substantial amount of effort will be needed by the House of Lords to internalize this
responsibility. It is not wholly a new responsibility in some respects because the House of
Lords presumably acts in the public interest and all acts have their presumed benefits at
some point in the future. However, vigorously protecting the future well-being of the heirs
of the United Kingdom is a much broader, more comprehensive mandate than is protecting
the rights of the landed gentry or judging the merits of joining the European Union. This
will require the House of Lords to take seriously the concept of sustainable development,
which the Bruntland Commision of 1987 defined as Development that would meet the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.3 This new responsibility will also require this body to take seriously every
humans obligations to our future generations and to other species living on earth.

References
[1] Australian Academy of Science, Warmer and sicker? Global Warming and Human Health, http://www.
science.org.au/nova/081/081key.htm, May 2004.
[2] Friends of the Earth, Climate: Fossil Fuels, http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/issues/fossil_fuels/
index.html, 2004 (accessed December 13).
[3] T.C. Kim, J. Dator, Introduction: future generationsthey are our conscience in: T.C. Kim, J. Dator (Eds.),
Co-creating a Public Philosophy for Future Generations, Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, 1999, pp. 116.
[4] M. Lynas, High Tide: the Truth About Our Climate Crisis, Picador, New York, 2004.

3
The Special Committee and the House of Lords could also help the United Kingdom meets its obligations to
the European Unions Convention on Human Rights with respect to sustainable development.

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[5] R. D. Blanchard, The Impact of Declining Major North Sea Oil Fields Upon Norwegian and United Kingdom
Oil Production, http://dieoff.org/page180.htm, 2004 (accessed December 13).
[6] Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords. A House for the Future, http://www.archive.
official-documents.co.uk/document/cm45/4534/4534.htm, January 2000.
[7] T. Hartmann, How Global Warming May Cause the Next Ice Age. CommonDreams.org http://www.
commondreams.org/views04/0130_11.htm, 2004 (January 30).
[8] United Kingdom Cabinet Office Strategy Unit, Strategic Audit: Discussion Document. http://www.pm.gov.
uk/files/pdf/strategic_audit.pdf.