Lord Speaker the bar, and finish by walking up the Temporal (opposition) side toward the Woolsack. The Mace is placed on the Woolsack, where the Lord Speaker sits after a bishop has led the House in prayers. When the Sovereign appoints Lords Commissioners to perform certain actions on his or her behalf (for example, to open or prorogue Parliament, or formally declare Royal Assent), the Lord Speaker is one of them. The other Lords Commissioners, by convention, are the Leader of the House (who has acted as the principal Commissioner since the Lord Chancellor's functions were transferred to the Lord Speaker), the
Reform of the House of Lords January 2003, the House of Lords and Commons debated the report. The debate in the Lords was dominated by contributors arguing for a fully appointed House, so much so that Lord Irvine stated: Plainly, the dominant view of this House expressed over the past two days is in favour of an all-appointed House On 29 January 2003, Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, added his own support to a fully appointed House by arguing against the creation of a hybrid House. On 4 February 2003, the Commons and House of Lords voted on the seven options proposed by the joint committee