Ditching hereditary peers branded ‘shoddy’ and ‘attempt to disable opposition’

Plans to ditch hereditary peers from the House of Lords have been branded a “shoddy political act” and a “naked attempt to disable opposition”.

Today, the Government introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill to Parliament, which is set to expel the remaining 92 hereditary peers from the upper chamber.

Lord Strathclyde, a hereditary peer himself and former leader of the House of Lords, accused the Government of a “high-handed, shoddy political act”.

Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Forsyth of Drumlean accused the Government of a “naked attempt to disable opposition” and “undermining our ability to carry out our duties effectively”.

Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon praised their “ingenuity” in their objections, but reminded them that this was a manifesto commitment that aims to complete the process of removing hereditary peers started 25 years ago.

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Shoddy

Lord Strathclyde said: “This is a high-handed, shoddy political act removing some of our most senior and experienced peers, such as the Convenor of the Crossbenchers, Lord Kinnoull, the deputy leader of the Opposition, Lord Howe, and many others who have held some of the most senior positions in government and in commerce.

“Why is it that the Government and the minister have not sought to have any discussions or consultations amongst the parties?

“Twenty-five years ago, there were countless debates and questions that took place in the House and ultimately finished up with an agreed and consensual way forward, agreed within the parties.”

Lady Smith responded: “I’ve always admired Lord Strathclyde’s ingenuity and never more so than today…

“He said that there was agreement previously. It was because there was no agreement during the passage of that Bill that further discussions took place and temporary arrangements were made on a transitional basis to exempt some hereditary peers from the legislation.

“This will complete that process.”

Manifesto commitments

Lord Forsyth asked: “On the subject of commitments in the manifesto and what was said about House of Lords reform by Labour, what has happened to the proposal to expel everyone after they reach the age of 80? Why has that been dropped from this Bill?

“And is the answer not that this is a naked attempt to disable opposition in this House from a Government which has a majority in the other place and where this place is the only part of Parliament which properly scrutinises legislation?

“What the Government is doing is undermining our ability to carry out our duties effectively.”

Lady Smith responded: “Again, the ingenuity of Lord Forsyth is always impressive, and he knows that isn’t the case.

“He also knows that the Labour Party manifesto at the last election was the only manifesto I have seen in recent years that praised the work of this House and it continues to do so and recognise the valuable work that it has done.

“One of the things that is important in this House is incremental reform.

“That manifesto commitment, on retirement age, on participation, as I’ve said before – and I think he was present in at least two debates on the King’s Speech where this was repeated – is a matter we will be consulting with the House on.

“But the manifesto also talked about immediate action on this particular issue. The other commitments of course remain and they will come forward in due course after discussions and dialogue across the House.”