Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Cash for peerages: the case against the House of Lords

MacNeil’s Honours (Prevention of Corruption) would both limit donations after an honour has been awarded, and forbid the grant of a peerage for two years after a donation.
It would also see the creation of an Honours and Appointments Commission with the power to veto nominations for honours.
I’ve got a simpler idea. Why not scrap the House of Lord saltogether? Power should reside in an elected assembly, with checks and balances provided by independently-minded members and a written bill of rights.
Labour’s constitutional ‘modernisation; has taken us only from the 15th century principle of heredity to 18th century principle of patronage. A largely-appointed second chamber is surely an untenable anachronism in a modern democracy.