41-641: The Services Committee is a select committee of the House of Lords which supports the House of Lords Commission . As of January 2024, the members of the committee are as follows: This article related to government in the United Kingdom or its constituent countries is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Select committee (United Kingdom) In British politics , parliamentary select committees are cross-party groups of MPs or Lords which investigate specific issues or scrutinise
82-717: A central figure to British Cold War propaganda due to his collaboration with the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret branch of the UK Foreign Office dedicated to disinformation, anti-communist, and pro-colonial propaganda during the Cold War. The IRD secretly funded, published and distributed many of Crossman's articles and books, including The God that Failed . His anti-communist works were not only of special interest to British propagandists but were also secretly sponsored by
123-594: A legal battle by the government to block publication. One of Crossman's legal executors was Michael Foot , then a cabinet minister, who opposed his own government's attempts to suppress the diaries. Among other things, the diaries describe Crossman's battles with "the Dame", his Permanent Secretary Evelyn Sharp , GBE (1903–1985), the first woman in Britain to hold the position. Crossman's backbench diaries were published in 1981. Crossman's diaries were an acknowledged source for
164-648: A member of the governing party leads the Treasury Select Committee . Committee membership reflects each party’s size in the House, and members are elected within their parties. Typically, a departmental committee has 11 members, though some, like Public Accounts , are larger. The Osmotherly Rules set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to parliamentary select committees. Following general elections, chairs and members of select committees have to be reappointed. Committees don't have
205-473: A select committee system, as part of their Overview and Scrutiny arrangements. Committees often open investigations, called inquiries, into topics within their remit. As part of these inquiries they gather information from government officials and interested people, groups, and organisations. At the end of inquiries they often publish a report with their findings. The government must issue a written response to each select committee report. Select committees in
246-487: A youth, had predominantly same-sex affairs at Oxford. In an early diary, he describes an Easter holiday with an unnamed young poet: "He kept me in a little white-washed room for a fortnight because his mouth was against mine and we were completely together." After being married to Erika Glück, a divorcée, whom he met while travelling in Germany after graduation, he married Zita Baker (ex-wife of John Baker ) in 1937. At
287-545: Is featured in season 3, episode 5 of Industry (TV series) . In the episode, Robert is sent to represent Pierpoint as part of the committee's inquiry into the collapse and bailout of Lumi, a green energy tech company. A 2015 select committee inquiry into the Horizon computer system features in Mr Bates vs The Post Office . Richard Crossman Richard Howard Stafford Crossman OBE (15 December 1907 – 5 April 1974)
328-865: The 1945 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry East , a seat he held until shortly before he died in 1974. During 1945–46 he served, on the nomination of the Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin , as a member of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry into the Problems of European Jewry and Palestine. The committee's report, submitted in April 1946, included a recommendation for 100,000 Jewish displaced persons to be permitted to enter Mandatory Palestine . Short of American financial and military assistance,
369-551: The House of Commons are governed by the Standing Orders. The powers of departmental select committees are set out in standing order 152. Political parties divide committee chair positions based on their number of seats in the House of Commons. Party managers negotiate which party chairs each committee. By tradition, the Public Accounts Committee is led by a member of the opposition party, while
410-704: The New Statesman in 1972. In the 1950s and 1960s, Crossman also had a regular column titled "Crossman Says..." in the Daily Mirror , the Labour-supporting tabloid newspaper. Along with the column of "Cassandra" , Crossman's reporting provided the bulk of political and international commentary in the newspaper. Crossman was a prolific writer and editor. In Plato To-Day (1937) he imagines Plato visiting Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Plato criticises Nazi and Communist politicians for misusing
451-551: The Wright Committee was formed to improve the procedures and relevance of Parliament. Changes made based on the committee's recommendations included limiting the number of members per committee to 11, requiring those members and chairs to be appointed to their positions by the House, and a reduction in the number of committees. The Backbench Business Committee was created in 2010 as a non-ministerial committee to cover non-government business, following recommendations from
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#1732793890052492-688: The 20th century, seriously challenged their right, or indeed their duty, to civilise these continents by physically occupying them, even at the cost of wiping out the aboriginal population." During the Palestine Emergency , Crossman's support for Zionism went as far as collaborating against the British Mandate government. One such attack in which he was implicated was the Night of the Bridges . Although no British soldiers were killed in
533-585: The British government refused to implement the report's recommendations. Thereafter Crossman led the socialist opposition to the official British policy for Palestine. That incurred Bevin's enmity, and may have been the primary factor which prevented Crossman from achieving ministerial rank during the 1945–51 government. Crossman initially supported the Arab cause, but became a lifelong Zionist after meeting Chaim Weizmann . In his diary, he described Weizmann as "one of
574-490: The House of Commons, and then for Social Services. In the early 1970s, Crossman was editor of the New Statesman . He is remembered for his highly revealing three-volume Diaries of a Cabinet Minister , published posthumously. Crossman was born on 15 December 1907 at Buckhurst Hill House, Essex, the son of Charles Stafford Crossman , a barrister and later a High Court judge, and Helen Elizabeth ( née Howard). Helen
615-479: The Reform the House of Commons report under the Wright Committee . Since June 2010, most committee chairs are elected by the whole House. Before this, each party appointed members and chose chairs within the group. Select committees recommendations often focus on changes to government policy. One study estimates that 30-40% of select committee recommendations become policy. A select committee evidence session
656-763: The Second World War, and served as secretary to Maurice Edelman MP. The Crossmans had two children, Patrick and Virginia. The Richard Crossman Building, built in 1971, at Coventry University is named in his honour. Crosssman's papers are at the Modern Records Centre , at the University of Warwick . Richard Crossman features in the theatre production Little Edens , set during the Florence Park rent strike of 1934. The former Labour MP Bryan Magee wrote in his autobiography Making
697-522: The US government, which translated his works into Malay and Chinese. Crossman was also a regular contributor to Encounter , an "anti-Stalinist" publication which received funding from MI6 and the CIA . Crossman's intense relationship with disinformation for propaganda purposes led to many people nicknaming him "Dick Double-Crossman". His name was also included within one of George Orwell 's notebooks following
738-560: The committees deemed appropriate. It also suggested that committee members should be selected independently of the party whips, as chosen by the Select Committee of Selection . The fourteen new committees began working in 1980 after the 1979 general election . Since then, Parliament has organised House of Commons committees into three main types: In July 2005, the Administration Select Committee
779-631: The discovery of Orwell's list , being noted by Orwell as being "Too dishonest to be outright F. T" (fellow-traveller). Crossman was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from 1952 to 1967 and served as its chair from 1960 to 1961. In 1957, Crossman was one of the plaintiffs, along with Aneurin Bevan and Morgan Phillips , in a claim for libel made against The Spectator , which had described
820-600: The encouraged the Arabs to murder the lot. I fought them at the time as murderers. I can never trust them again and you can't expect me to forgive them for genocide." Crossman cemented his role as a leader of the left-wing of the Parliamentary Labour Party in 1947 by co-authoring the Keep Left pamphlet, and later became one of the more prominent Bevanites . Crossman is considered by historians to be
861-418: The football field. He studied Classics at New College, Oxford , where he was friendly with W.H. Auden . He received a double first and became a fellow in 1931. He taught philosophy at the university before becoming a Workers' Educational Association lecturer. He was a councillor on Oxford City Council , and became head of its Labour group in 1935. Crossman, who had been noted for his good looks as
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#1732793890052902-605: The ideas he had set forth in the Republic . After the war, Crossman edited The God That Failed (1949), a collection of anti-Communist essays by former Communists. Crossman is best remembered for his colourful and highly subjective three-volume Diaries of a Cabinet Minister , written while he was living in Vincent Square , published posthumously from 1975 to 1977 and covering his time in government from 1964 to 1970. The diaries appeared after he had died, and following
943-598: The initial attacks, 20-year-old Royal Engineer Roy Charles Allen was killed while trying to defuse an undetonated bomb. Christopher Mayhew later recounted the collaboration in his book Publish It Not: The Middle East Cover-up : "One day, Crossman, now in the House of Commons, came to see Strachey … [Crossman] had heard from his friends in the Jewish Agency that they were contemplating an act of sabotage … Should this be done, or should it not? Few would be killed … Crossman asked Strachey for his advice … The next day in
984-449: The legal power to compel people to appear before them. Rupert Murdoch and Mike Ashley are two examples of witnesses who initially declined before agreeing to appear. Mark Zuckerberg , for example, declined to appear in front of a committee at all. Following the dissolution of parliament that preceded the 2024 election, all select committees were disbanded. The House of Commons allocated which parties would hold each Chair in advance of
1025-589: The new Government Harold Wilson appointed him to the Cabinet as Minister of Housing and Local Government . In 1966, Crossman became Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons . Between 1968 and 1970, he was the first Secretary of State for Social Services , in which position he worked on an ambitious proposal to supplement Britain's flat-rate state pension with an earnings-related element. The proposal had not, however, been passed into law at
1066-915: The outbreak of the Second World War, Crossman joined the Political Warfare Executive under Robert Bruce Lockhart , where he headed the German Section. He produced anti-Nazi propaganda broadcasts for the BBC German Service and the Radio of the European Revolution, set up by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). He eventually became Assistant Chief of the Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF and
1107-527: The smoking room at the House of Commons, Strachey gave his approval to Crossman. The Haganah went ahead and blew up all the bridges over the [River] Jordan." Crossman never forgave Bevin or Clement Attlee for their involvement in the war in Palestine and for trying to stop the establishment of Israel: "You seem to have forgotten that Clement Attlee and Ernest Bevin plotted to destroy the Jews in Palestine and
1148-585: The summer recess on 30 July 2024. Nominations for Chairs ran until 9 September. Ballots took place on 11 September. House of Lords select committees include: These committees run inquiries into and publish reports on topics within their remit. Specialised committees of investigation existed within Parliament since the Tudor period . In the sixteenth century, committees revised bills and considered constitutional and religious questions. The committees system
1189-615: The television comedy series Yes Minister . Crossman died of liver cancer on 5 April 1974 at his home in Oxfordshire . He was survived by his third wife, Anne Patricia (15 April 1920 – 3 October 2008; née McDougall, daughter of Patrick McDougall, of Prescote Manor, Cropredy, founder of the Banbury cattle market), with whom he shared common descent from the Danvers family of Cropredy. Anne Crossman worked at Bletchley Park during
1230-494: The three men as drinking heavily during a socialist conference in Italy. Having sworn that the charges were untrue, the three collected damages from the magazine. Many years later, Crossman's posthumously published diaries confirmed that The Spectator ' s charges had been true and that all three of them had perjured themselves. Crossman was Labour's spokesman on education before the 1964 general election , but upon forming
1271-525: The time the Labour Party lost the 1970 general election . During the months of political turmoil that led up to the election loss, Crossman had been considered, however briefly, as a last-minute option to replace Wilson as Prime Minister. After Labour's general election defeat in 1970, Crossman resigned from the Labour front bench to become editor of the New Statesman , where he had been a frequent contributor and assistant editor from 1938 until 1955. He left
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1312-457: The very few great men I have ever met." Crossman remained a supporter of Israel during his political career from the late-1940s until his death in 1974. At a 1959 lecture in Israel, Crossman attacked what he perceived as hypocrisy over Israel regarding anti-indigenous racism. "For generations it had been assumed that civilisation would be spread by the white man settling overseas... No one, until
1353-514: The war. At them, Crossman met the German politician Hans von Herwarth , the ex-soldier Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin , future German President Richard von Weizsäcker and other leading German decision makers. Other attendees at the conferences included Denis Healey , soon to become a Labour Party politician, and Robin Day , later a political broadcaster. Crossman entered the House of Commons at
1394-490: The work of government departments and agencies, whereas Lords select committees look at general issues, such as the constitution or the economy. Select committees are also one of parliament's mechanisms for holding the private sector to account. Following the 2024 United Kingdom general election , most of the new chairs of the 26 select committees were elected in September 2024. Some English local authorities also have
1435-524: The work of the Government of the United Kingdom . They can be appointed from the House of Commons , from the House of Lords , or as a joint committee of Parliament drawn from both. Committees may be as "sessional" committees – i.e. be near-permanent – or as "ad-hoc" committees with a specific deadline by which to complete their work, after which they cease to exist. House of Commons select committees are generally responsible for overseeing
1476-520: Was a British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the party's advocates of Zionism . He was a Bevanite on the left of the party, and a long-serving member of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) from 1952. Crossman was a Cabinet minister in Harold Wilson 's governments of 1964–1970, first for Housing, then as Leader of
1517-525: Was awarded an OBE for his wartime service. In April 1945, Crossman was one of the first British officers to enter the former Dachau concentration camp . With war correspondent Colin Wills , Crossman co-wrote the script for German Concentration Camps Factual Survey , a British government documentary, produced by Sidney Bernstein with treatment advice by Alfred Hitchcock , that showed gruelling scenes from Nazi concentration camps . The uncompleted film
1558-436: Was created to replace five previous committees. It covers services in the House, including catering, the House of Commons Library , digital services, and visitor services. Sometimes, committees from the House of Commons or joint standing committees (which include members of both Houses) review individual bills in detail. Most bills go to public bill committees . Before 2006, these were called standing committees. In 2009,
1599-501: Was further developed during the mid-1960s by Richard Crossman as Leader of the House of Commons . The modern system of departmental select committees in the UK came into being in 1979, following the recommendations of a 1978 Procedure Select Committee report. It recommended the appointment of a series of select committees covering all the main departments of state, with wide terms of reference, and with power to appoint specialist advisers as
1640-650: Was of the Howard family of Ilford descended from Luke Howard , a Quaker chemist and meteorologist who founded the pharmaceutical company Howards and Sons. Crossman grew up in Buckhurst Hill , Essex, and was educated at Twyford School , and at Winchester College (although founders' kin privileges at Winchester were abolished in 1857, Crossman was "founder's kin", being descended from William of Wykeham through John Danvers, one of his father's ancestors), where he became head boy . He excelled academically and on
1681-584: Was shelved for decades before being assembled by scholars at the Imperial War Museum and released in 2014. That same year, German Concentration Camps Factual Survey was itself the subject of a documentary, Night Will Fall . Crossman became a key participant in the annual Königswinter Conference , organised by Lilo Milchsack to bring together British and German legislators, academics and opinion-formers from 1950 onwards. The conferences were credited with helping to heal bad memories created by