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August 26, 2006
Lords Reform
Oh my word, aren’t we being offered such a delightful system for reform of the Lords?
The most likely option is a method similar to that used to elect British MEPs, whereby voters in each region are presented with lists of candidates drawn up by political parties.
Mmmmmm, tasty, just feel the power slipping away from the party apparatchiks there.
Look, whatever is done about the Lords, elections, appointments, heredity, whatever, the main and supreme goal is to make sure that the party system doesn’t get ahold of it. The purpose of such a second chamber, the very reason to have a bicameral system, is to have one where the mob (the Demos) holds sway and another which has both the power and the intelligence to tell said mob when it’s being damn foolish and had better think again.
Baddies want to kill us? The mob says lock ’em all up. The second chamber says, err, well, umm, who is they and upon what grounds will they be locked up? Plod not liking the look of them? You really want unlimited pokey time at the say so of some Stalinist Glaswegian ex-drunk? Perhaps not eh?
Reduced to that simple metric (rather as the EU can be reduced to "Will that stop Germany invading France? Again?") putting the political parties in charge of who gets into the Lords doesn’t look all that sensible now, does it? Most certainly putting the political parties in charge of who gets to stay in the Lords, to benefit from the new, no doubt handsome, salary that will be on offer doesn’t bode well for the independence of those who are there.
Yes, the logic of this does then carry on to the thought that it’s almost impossible to have elections without there being party involvement: which, yes, means that perhaps we shouldn’t actually have an elected Lords at all.
Me, I propose that it be filled by lottery. Some near random process of appointing people who will do a good job of scrutiny without being held captive by the structures of political parties.
The first born sons and daughters of the previous generations’ high achievers sounds random enough to me.
August 26, 2006 in Politics | Permalink
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Tracked on Aug 27, 2006 10:27:22 AM
Comments
You'd want Polly Toynbee in the House of Lords? [Shudder]
Or Tony Blair's son? (We already have to put up with "Baroness Scotland").
The House of Lords did work, despite its anachronistic nature, but Blair as usual has wrecked everything.
But I do like the lottery system - why not have "juries" of randomly selected people listening to rubbish like the ID card proposals and just saying No.
Posted by: David B. Wildgoose | Aug 26, 2006 9:42:32 AM
The British House of Lords is the most erudite, informed and educated legislature in the world. It doesn't matter what topic is under discussion, the Lords, as it is, will almost certainly contain one or more members who are world renouned experts in that topic.
I can see why Blair would feel it necessary to change this.
Posted by: Chris harper | Aug 26, 2006 9:48:50 AM
Chris harper
With you on that - and the House of Commons is (sadly) almost exactly the reverse: I wonder why.
Posted by: Umbongo | Aug 26, 2006 12:33:47 PM
"The British House of Lords is the most erudite, informed and educated legislature in the world."
The whole exercise in "Modernising" the House of Lords was a classic (and pathetic) piece of New Labour spin, devised in Alastair Campbell's time in Downing St, intended to distract attention from other genuinely controversial issues by making the Lords a popular whipping post. Of course, there was the recurring embarrassment with the hickups and delay over passing the legislation to ban "hunting with dogs" but we have still to assess how workable that legislation is in practice - don't get on to me, I've never even seen fox or deer hunting. All I know about foxes is that I keep finding them sound asleep on the small lawn in my tiny back garden, like yesterday, despite living in deep urban London. There are at least two of them, a young, thin one and an older one. Fortunately or otherwise, I've no dog, so I can't be done by the legislation.
The Lords is a chamber for deliberative debate with a special function of scrutinising EU legislation, an important function that the Commons regards as too boring and therefore demeaning.
The constitutional powers of the Lords to block government legislation are very weak. Read heavyweight texts on second chambers in legislatures around the world and the Lords is rated as having only weak powers compared with second chambers in many other legislatures. Since the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords cannot amend or block financial legislation. Since the Parliament Act 1948, unlike the US Senate or Germany's Bundesrat, the Lords can only block other government legislation for a year - except for legislation prolonging the life of Parliament beyond a maximum of five years.
Governments of all colours have regularly used the Lords to scrutinise and approve late amendments to bills in passage through Parliament to iron out wrinkles and to take account of second thoughts, expert soundings and late lobbying by special interest groups.
It's the extraordinary breadth and depth of expertise gathered in the Lords which makes it so valuable in the functions it does fulfil. Transforming the Lords into an elected chamber might make it "more democratic" in some sense, but the Lords wouldn't then be able to do what it does so well. And an elected House of Lords could certainly challenge the claimed ascendancy of the House of Commons.
Posted by: Bob B | Aug 26, 2006 12:41:44 PM
I propose that it be filled by lottery
Sortition - the Athenian option. Found the site when doing some research on lottery selection, must get in contact with them. At the very least, I could makeover their godawful website...
Posted by: MatGB | Aug 26, 2006 2:11:37 PM
Tim,
'Stalinist Glaswegian ex-drunk'?
Posted by: Martin | Aug 26, 2006 6:13:57 PM
Martin, you have evidence that he's still drinking?
Posted by: MatGB | Aug 27, 2006 1:40:51 AM
No.
Nor do I have any evidence he's Glaswegian.
Posted by: Martin | Aug 27, 2006 9:25:08 AM
Which "he" are you talking about? I'm pretty sure Tim's talking about Reid, the bloke with the power to lock you up without charge.
Posted by: MatGB | Aug 27, 2006 9:10:30 PM
Yeah, that's who I'm talking about.
Posted by: Martin | Aug 28, 2006 7:09:45 AM
