Once more we hear about reform of the House of Lords – this time with the removal of the last remaining Hereditary Peers. The reality this is just fiddling around with no real attempt to grapple with the central issue – how should our second chamber be constituted?
Instead, we have had endless discussions about the membership of the House of Lords. Their age (average over 70), the balance of the sexes, party representation, number of cross-benchers (not as impartial as is often suggested), whether the Church of England should have their entitlement (why in this day and age) and what interests are represented – legal, academic, industrial, military, NHS etc
Most Members of the House of Lords live in or near to London. Yes, they may have come from other parts of the country at some point in the past, but many of their views, outlook and probably interests are more likely to represent and reflect a particular view of the world with little interest or appreciation of how different parts of the UK function. Indeed, this is not helped by the attitude of parties such as the SNP who refuse to nominate people to enter the House of Lords thus reducing the voice or influence of Scottish interests in Parliament.
There are clearly very powerful arguments for fundamental change as to how the House of Lords is constituted. The present set-up is clearly not right, and with the removal of the hereditary peers it will effectively mean our second chamber (which has considerable powers) will be a reflection and patronage of various Prime Ministers over the years.
Until we do get such a comprehensive review, what of our regional representation and voices. How is the true north heard? The area has a population of over 3.1 million nearly 5% of the national population. It should mean on the basis of 800 members, that there are at least 40 individuals representing the views, issues and aspirations, of the true north. Actually, living and breathing the issues that affect our region. Instead, we have remarkable few who actually reside in the area and take the time and effort to travel to and from London. Of course, there will be some who have come from the region and live in the south but often they become out of touch with views and outlook of the areas that they once lived in.
Until such time as we do have a comprehensive reform of the membership of the House of Lords, it is vital that future appointments to the House of Lords take into account regional balance.
The true north is already distant from the power centre. It is therefore even more important that we have a proper voice in the corridors of power – not just the House of Commons but also the House of Lords – therefore more appointments are necessary sooner rather than later.
