More on BIS - Mandy's new girlfriend

Nice to see my point about BIS echoed in Parliament and in the press. Well, more or less.

The new name got me wondering: why BIS? Some have expressed concern about the lack of 'universities' in the title. Surely BIS is an overused word anyway. You've got:

The Bank for International Settlements, the bank for central banks.

TIm Sweeney's excellent Beats in Space.

Then there's '90s Scottish Indie poppers Bis. I remember buying the below song on DIY-style 7" vinyl. Mail-order. To complete the circle, is that Peter Mandelson's new girlfriend, Geraldine Smith, on vocals?

BIS: undemocratic behemoth

People are right to worry about the high number of Lords being promoted to the cabinet under Brown.

Martin Bright says:

This was a desperate reshuffle. With Lord Adonis at Transport and Lord Mandelson at Business, Innovation and Skills (and presumably Universities and Enterprise and Regulatory Reform as well) this is the least democratic government Britain has seen since the end if the Second World War.

Quite. 'BIS' (Business Innovation and Skills, Dept for) is the new amalgam of the old Department for Business (BERR) and the short-lived Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Aka First Secretary Mandelson's aggrandised power base. An undemocratic behemoth if ever there was one. Take a look at its list of 11 (yes, 11!) ministers:

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

* Minister of State - The Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP**
* Minister of State - The Rt Hon Lord Drayson* & ** (jointly with the Ministry of Defence)
* Minister of State - The Rt Hon David Lammy MP
* Minister of State - The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP*** (jointly with the Department for Communities and Local Government)
* Minister of State - Lord Davies of Abersoch CBE* (jointly with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
* Minister of State - Kevin Brennan MP (jointly with the Department for Children, Schools and Families)
* Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Lord Carter of Barnes (jointly with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
* Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Ian Lucas MP
* Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Baroness Vadera (jointly with Cabinet Office)
* Parliamentary Under Secretary of State* - Lord Young of Norwood Green (and Lord in Waiting - paid)

Plus Mandy. Of the 11, five are unelected peers, among them some of the most influential figures in the government - Mandelson, Vadera, Carter, Drayson.

No institution better illustrates (simply by existing) the need for a democratic House of Lords. Now.