A responsible opposition would not rebuff the government’s manifesto commitment to remove hereditary peers
Labour’s 2024 manifesto | Image by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
4 min read
The government has the right to get its bills through the Lords – and the Lords is right to scrutinise
Since being elected as an MP in 1997 and going to the Lords in 2010, I’ve seen some hugely significant changes at Westminster. Yet the period since 2016 has been the most challenging and destabilising, for Parliament and our country. The tone of the Brexit debate, the pandemic, the extraordinary and unprecedented upheaval of ministers and prime ministers, alongside turmoil within political parties, have left their impact on political life.
The challenge now, not just for government but for us all in Parliament, is to do it better.
With almost 10 years as shadow leader of the House of Lords, it was an honour to be appointed to the Cabinet by the Prime Minister – and drop the ‘shadow’. I remain intrigued by my official title of Lord Privy Seal – especially on hearing that a former holder, the great Ernie Bevin, remarked that he was “neither a lord, a privy or a seal”.There is a formal role, including during the state opening. There is also the political responsibility of ensuring, with our chief whip, Roy Kennedy, that government bills pass and that the views and role of the House are appreciated.
Two abiding principles of my work as shadow leader were that the government has a right to get its legislation through and that the primary purpose of the Lords is to scrutinise legislation. With good governance those two principles are complementary.
Our talented and experienced Lords ministerial team is already engaging with the expertise and knowledge across the House. All legislation has policy red lines to ensure the objective is achieved and that will be tested in debate. Scrutiny and consideration of legislation for the purpose of making improvements is positive – and it is not just about the formal debates but meetings, briefings, and engagement. Yet, with all the far-reaching and fundamental bills brought forward by our new government, the one that has drawn the most excitement from Conservative peers is legislation to remove the remaining hereditaries from the House – as part of a wider programme of Lords reform.
It may turn out to be more bluster than filibuster
A quarter of a century ago, under the 1999 House of Lords Act, transitional arrangements provided that 92 hereditary peers remained, with by-elections to replace those who left. Since then, 56 new peers have come into Parliament through such elections – all of them men. Despite support from all corners of the House, attempts to end this process were rebuffed by previous governments.
Many hereditary peers have made important contributions to public and parliamentary life, a point I have emphasised, including in a recent government press release when the bill was introduced into the Commons. Yet that did not stop some pretty colourful remarks from the Lords, accusing me of “a high-handed, shoddy political act” and “a naked attempt to disable opposition”. Indeed, one former Conservative cabinet minister suggested the need for a more “sensible, mature and adult” approach – something that, at my age, I’ll take as a compliment!
Despite it being both a manifesto commitment and very narrow in scope, some members of the House are planning to make amending this bill their ‘mission’. That may turn out to be more bluster than filibuster but, with apologies to Yes Minister, it would be a courageous act for the Conservative Party to make such a mission a priority for this Parliament.
Responsible government and responsible opposition are two sides of the same coin. Our first-rate team of ministers in the Lords is committed to the ambitious manifesto on which Labour was elected in July and we look forward to engaging in debates as we take our legislative commitments forward.
Baroness Smith of Basildon is Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
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