Burnham’s on his way to No.10. Could I be on my way out of the House of Lords?
4 min read
“Scandalous”. This was the word used by Keir Starmer’s successor to describe the House of Lords just a few short weeks ago when referring to the fact that “half” of the UK’s legislature is unelected.’
I agree with him. It is scandalous, especially when the actual number is more than half. We have 650 Members of the House of Commons, chosen by voters, but at the time of writing, we have 791 Members of the House of Lords, many of whom reach the Lords through systems of patronage and personal networks. A world most people will never be privy to.
To be fair to the outgoing Prime Minister, he did at least attempt to reduce the number of hereditary peers - all male, all born with the opportunity to make laws that affect us all.
Eighty-Five lost their seats. Twenty-nine promptly regained them. A third returned. The system regenerates itself faster than anyone is willing to reform it.
It is no secret that I want to see the House of Lords abolished and replaced with a democratic second chamber. But it is also no secret how the incoming Prime Minister feels either.
Back in 2001, he said the case for Lords reform was “urgent”. If it was urgent twenty-five years ago, then surely it is overdue today. His recent comments on the Makerfield by-election campaign trail reinforced that urgency when he said that reform “cannot be delayed any longer” and that the Lords is the first place to look when “cutting the cost of politics”. He has long supported a Senate of the Nations and Regions, which is a model that would finally give Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the English regions a meaningful voice.
As a woman representing Wales - one of very few Welsh voices in the Lords - this is music to my ears. How can a legislature dominated by a handful of London and South-East England postcodes genuinely represent communities hundreds of miles away, whose lives and experiences many peers have never known the likes of?
So, given that we seem to see eye to eye on this, I thought I would set out how I think he can best go about it.
In the 2024 manifesto, the Labour Party committed to consult on proposals to replace the House of Lords with an alternative second Chamber, seeking the input of the British public on how politics can best serve them. The argument I hear time and again is that such reform is impossible - too big of a beast, too complex, and too much resistance from within the Lords itself.
But that simply isn’t true.
The Salisbury Convention is a constitutional convention that means that the House of Lords should not block legislation that implements a clear manifesto commitment. While the convention is not legally binding, it has mostly been respected for over 80 years and provides a strong foundation for delivering what voters were promised.
And if the Lords did attempt to obstruct it, the Parliament Acts provide a statutory route to ensure the elected House prevails. A Bill passed by the Commons in two successive sessions - with at least a year between its first and final passage - can be sent for Royal Assent without the Lords’ consent. Reform may be a bit of a bumpy ride, but it is not impossible, and it certainly shouldn’t be a reason for us to shy away from transforming the institutions that underpin our very lives to better serve the people of these nations.
Given the current UK Government’s sluggish approach to their 2024 manifesto commitment, I recently introduced a Private Member’s Bill to establish a framework for consulting stakeholders on replacing the Lords with a democratic second chamber. This is exactly what the Labour Party promised in its manifesto, so I thought I would give them a helpful nudge.
Some may think – when people are struggling with the cost of living and public services in need of support - why would this be the next Prime Minister’s priority? But as the ‘King of the North’ said himself, the “constitutional stuff” and the wiring of the country is part of the problem. For that reason, I sincerely hope he may be bolder still. After all, nothing says ‘man of the people’ quite like dismantling an ancient institution that was designed by and for the elite.
I would be delighted to work with anyone who shares this vision. So, Andy, my door is open – as I hope yours will be too.
