The Tory bid to keep hereditary peers in the House of Lords is ridiculous because nobody should be allowed to make laws for the rest of us just because an ancestor of theirs did.
Even the King doesn’t have that power (allegedly), so why should anybody else?
The Tory argument for keeping the 92 hereditary peers currently sitting in the Lords is that some of them are very active participants in debates, and it is peers of any kind who do not take such an active role that should be removed. That was how hereditary peer Lord Strathclyde put it during a debate in that house.
But one of the reasons for removing hereditary peers has to be that they do take part in these debates and influence the running of the United Kingdom, with no right to do so other than having an ancestor who did the same. Strathclyde’s reason for keeping hereditary peers is actually a reason to get rid of them.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
And as Lords leader Baroness Smith said, there is nothing in the legislation to stop hereditary peers who were removed from being nominated for life peerages in the future.
Labour’s general election promise to do so is actually an intention to finish reforms of the Lords that began under Tony Blair’s first Parliament in 1999, when the 700-year-old right of all hereditary peers to sit in the Lords was revoked, leaving just 92 as a compromise with the Conservatives.
Labour’s ultimate plan is to replace the House of Lords with an elected “Assembly of the Nations and Regions” – but that is not planned to happen until after the next general election.
Personally, This Writer would like to see members of the Second House elected on the basis of expertise in particular matters that government influences, so the electorate has the best people on whom to rely when legislation is debated.
Is that still too much to ask?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Tory bid to keep hereditary peers in the House of Lords is ridiculous
The Tory bid to keep hereditary peers in the House of Lords is ridiculous because nobody should be allowed to make laws for the rest of us just because an ancestor of theirs did.
Even the King doesn’t have that power (allegedly), so why should anybody else?
The Tory argument for keeping the 92 hereditary peers currently sitting in the Lords is that some of them are very active participants in debates, and it is peers of any kind who do not take such an active role that should be removed. That was how hereditary peer Lord Strathclyde put it during a debate in that house.
But one of the reasons for removing hereditary peers has to be that they do take part in these debates and influence the running of the United Kingdom, with no right to do so other than having an ancestor who did the same. Strathclyde’s reason for keeping hereditary peers is actually a reason to get rid of them.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
And as Lords leader Baroness Smith said, there is nothing in the legislation to stop hereditary peers who were removed from being nominated for life peerages in the future.
Labour’s general election promise to do so is actually an intention to finish reforms of the Lords that began under Tony Blair’s first Parliament in 1999, when the 700-year-old right of all hereditary peers to sit in the Lords was revoked, leaving just 92 as a compromise with the Conservatives.
Labour’s ultimate plan is to replace the House of Lords with an elected “Assembly of the Nations and Regions” – but that is not planned to happen until after the next general election.
Personally, This Writer would like to see members of the Second House elected on the basis of expertise in particular matters that government influences, so the electorate has the best people on whom to rely when legislation is debated.
Is that still too much to ask?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
Showdown between the Lords and the Tories over tax credits
After the defeat, the threats: Osborne bites back over tax credits
Is Brexit threatening the future of the House of Lords? No. It is offering YOUR money to Tories