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Campaign for Change 4: Fixing the Upper House - by James Evans
The Commons have finally voted: now James Evans suggests how the House of Lords should look after its final bout of reconstitution. But do you agree...?
Proposal: to implement a fully elected House of Lords by: (a) Electing two per county on a county by county basis (b) Electing from an existing elite of honoured citizens (c) Ensuring that future honours are bestowed independent of the political parties. The Commons have spoken. The ‘House of cronies’ is no more. Mr Blair should rejoice at his legacy: he swung the initial wrecking ball through an edifice he regarded as undemocratic because, unelected, it opposed the will of his Commons majority. Bizarrely, a fully elected house is now claimed to be ‘the very option’ our Prime Minister ‘most dislikes’ (Toby Helm and George Jones, Daily Telegraph, 8/3/07, p.12). The constitutional problem with an elected Upper House is its claim for democratic equality with the Commons. In the United States of America, the people do not seem to take issue with the equality of the Senate and the House of Representatives, but as a loyal monarchist and true Brit, I am sure that Mr Blair turns away from a system which would place presidential powers at his fingertips. It may be, however, that the second chamber can borrow usefully from the Senate’s electoral process. Members could be elected on a two per county basis or in equal numbers from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Either process would distinguish it from the Commons, although since Wales and Scotland already have devolved assemblies, county representatives would make better sense. There is no reason why the new Upper House could not take on the tradition of the Lords’ wise elite within this context. Standing for election could be restricted to the honoured elite of peers, religious leaders, knights, CBEs, MBEs and OBEs, an awesome "A" pool of distinguished service and expertise. It would lead to a House significantly different to the Commons, while retaining many of the valued characteristics of the present Lords. To protect the integrity of the new Upper House, it is crucial that national honours are awarded by a panel entirely independent of the political parties. This should be arranged by the Queen, whose hereditary role as guardian of British democracy sets her apart from party conflict and party rule. 09/03/07 Comment on this or any other topic by going to our forum |
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