Lord McFall of Alluit, Speaker of the Lord Credit: Roger Harris
The Speaker of the Lord will urge the Prime Minister to end the resignation and limit the size of the House Lords following the Boris Johnson list controversy.
In an article for The Telegraph, Lord McFall said he would meet with Rishi Sunak in a few days to convince him to accept the recommendations of a new report calling for a cap number of peers to pave the way for a possible reduction from 800 to 600.
He said voter confidence in politics was «low» after recent scandals and «further undermined by perceptions of injustice in peer appointments.»
Lord Fall said he would urge Mr. Sunak to tie the number of party political of peers that could be awarded with a share of the party's vote in recent elections — a move that would result in the virtual abolition of honors upon resignation.
And he said he wanted the prime minister to limit the ability of future prime ministers appoint colleagues from different benches, possibly up to a maximum of 10.
The intervention comes after an honors controversy over Mr. Johnson's resignation, which would see more fellow Conservatives swell. The situation will worsen once Liz Truss releases his list.
The Lord Speaker's committee on the size of the House said last night that recent developments, such as Mr Johnson's honors list, have «brought the appointment system into question.»
They stated that a mechanism must be put in place to create a fair and sustainable system—either through legislation or through formal agreement among political parties—before a permanent reduction in membership can be achieved.
The reformed system will also address imbalances in the House representatives, which is dominated by conservatives.
Lord McFall wrote that if the system was not changed, Sir Keir Starmer would be forced to appoint dozens of Labor colleagues if he won the election to ensure that he could get his legislative program through the upper house.
“ Colleagues wince when they are reminded that they are part of the second largest legislature in the world after the National People's Congress,” he wrote.
“Today, the Burns Committee publishes its fifth report, which makes it clear that all efforts by the House of Lords to control its size will be in vain until a «fair and stable» system of appointments is agreed upon.
“This will entail limiting membership in the House of Representatives, which is currently unlimited. This would mean an end to the awarding of peers as retirement honors and an end to the 'ratchet effect' where a flood of new peers enter the House at a change of government.
“I agree. meeting with the prime minister in the coming days and I will urge him to consider these reforms in the most serious way, as I will also encourage the leaders of the opposition parties.”
He added: “Lords reform is not high on the voters' list of priorities. But voter confidence in politics is clearly at a low ebb following the recent controversy and further undermined by perceptions of unfairness in the appointment of colleagues.”
The committee’s first report, published in 2017, was chaired by former Permanent Secretary of the Treasury Lord Burns, initially called for a reduction in the number of colleagues from about 800 to 600.
But in its fifth report, the committee now admits that progress has been so slow since then, as the priority now is to set a cap so the number can't rise any further.
He wants the number of Conservatives, Labor and others political colleagues has been tied to vote share in recent elections, eliminating the need for honorary retiree rolls.
He proposes that colleagues serve no more than 15 years, a move that would reduce the size of the House.
The committee warns that unless steps are taken to correct the political imbalance, the Labor Party may be forced to appoint dozens of peers if they win the election so that they do not suffer permanent defeats.
And it says that every the prime minister should be limited to nominating 10 colleagues from different benches, with more being elected by the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac).
The Appointments Commission has the task of appointing individuals who will add to the vast experience and knowledge of the Lords, but David Cameron limited them to two appointments per year.
The report says: «Prime Ministers need to return to a maximum of 10 cross-appointments non-Holak members in each parliament and increase the number of members they allow Holak to appoint.»
Broad support
President of Parliament The Lord Speaker's Committee on House Size Lord Burns said: «There is broad support in the House of Lords for our major offers first published in 2017.
“Now we must learn from the problems we have experienced over the past six years, and if they continue, the House will become even larger than it is now. The political leadership should initially focus on implementing a sustainable and equitable method of distribution of appointments.
«This will lay the foundation for limiting and sustainably reducing the size of the House of Representatives.»
The committee also called for an end to by-election of hereditary peers to the Lords, which would mean their phasing out as peers die or retire.
It pointed out that 88 newly-created peers have been conservative in recent years , compared to 26 for Labor.
And it said that while there had been good progress under Theresa May in reducing the size of the House of Representatives, «Boris Johnson showed no interest in the question of the size of the House of Representatives.»
«While the number of departures from the House of Representatives was still broadly in line with our benchmarks, the number of appointments far exceeded them, and they were given predominantly to members of his own party.»
The Lords must remain on the path of reform
I swear by Lord McFall of Alluita
When I ran for Lord Speaker in 2021, I said that the House of Lords «should remain on the path of reform and modernization.»
This message resonated with many of my colleagues in the Upper House, who understood this, quoting the famous dictum of the Prince from the Leopard of Lampedusa: «If we want everything to remain as it is, everything must change.»
Contrary to popular belief, there is a strong appetite for reform on the red benches to make the upper house even more effective in its tasks of scrutinizing and reviewing legislation, holding the government accountable, and conducting investigations into long-term strategic issues facing the government . UK.
Peers nod their heads when they hear the public complaining about the mysterious system for nominating new members to lordships. And they wince when they are reminded that they are part of the second largest legislature in the world after the National People's Congress.
My predecessor as Lord Speaker and respected colleague Lord Fowler established a cross-party committee in 2016 under the leadership of the former Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, Lord Burns, to estimate the size of the House of Representatives.
His report, which outlines plans to reduce their number to 600 and introduce fixed 15-year terms, received wide approval in the House of Lords in 2017. But the formal political support needed to implement it has unfortunately not materialized in the past six years.
Today, the Burns Committee publishes its fifth report, which makes it clear that all efforts by the House of Lords to control its size will be futile until a «fair and sustainable» appointment system is agreed upon.
This would entail limiting membership in the House of Representatives, which is currently unlimited. This would mean the end of peers being awarded as retired honors and the end of the «ratchet effect» where a flood of new peers enter the House of Representatives when there is a change of government. This will end the confusing system of by-elections for hereditary peers, who sometimes compete for red bench seats with only three eligible voters.
I'm meeting with the prime minister. minister in the coming days, and I will urge him to consider these reforms most seriously, as I will similarly encourage the leaders of the opposition parties.
The reform of the Lords is not at the top of the list. voter priorities. But voter confidence in politics is definitely at a low ebb after the recent controversy and further undermined by a sense of unfairness in the appointment of colleagues.
I also urge Mr. Sunak to pay close attention to the recommendations of the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) committee.
Holac was created in 2000 to bring independent and expert opinion to the Upper House. Its nominees included the likes of tech pioneer Martha Lane Fox, palliative care professor Ilora Finlay, climate change economist Nicholas Stern, Paralympian Tanni Gray-Thompson, and homelessness campaigner John Beard, founder of The Big Issue.
They are people who most likely would never run for office. But their knowledge, experience and impartial approach enrich the debate in the House of Representatives and help develop good legislation.In its first 11 years of existence, Holac has recommended 59 independent experts from various instances. But in 2012, David Cameron limited them to two per year. Over the next 11 years, there have been only 15 Holac-nominated peers, while Crossbench and unaffiliated ranks have been bolstered by an ever-increasing number, personally chosen by the prime minister.
The Burns Committee is calling on Mr. Sunak to turn the tide. This can be done with a simple letter to Holak's chairman, Lord Beau. This may seem like a minor change, but it will refocus the Lords on their core functions and help restore the public's confidence in the independence and competence that make the upper house an integral and valuable part of the Westminster parliamentary system.
Lord McFall of Alluith is Lord- Speaker of the House of Lords
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