HOUSE OF LORDS REFORM MUST PROCEED

As the Government unveils its proposals on reform to the House of Lords, listening to the bleating of various current members of this august body really is becoming painful.

Of course, you can't expect turkeys to vote for Christmas, but these are supposed to be intelligent and trustworthy people, appointed to the House specifically because they are so. Hearing so many of them trot out every possible reason why the House should not be reformed tells me that the majority are simply self-serving politicians who will fight tooth-and-nail to protect their own exalted status.

'There are far more important things for Government to deal with'

'We will lose so much expertise'

'There will be a blurring of responsibilites with the Commons'

'It's a mechanism for the LibDems to gain a permanent advantage'

'We will lose the 'voluntary' ethic that currently exists'

'It will be much more expensive'

'The membership will be more 'politicized''

These are only a few of the nonsensical reasons that I've heard used in the last couple of days - there are many more. What drivel. For a democratic country to have half of its Parliamentary system composed of a huge number of politically appointed individuals, is ridiculous, whatever the reasons that are given for its continuation. Failed and retired members of the Commons can frequently rely on the patronage of their Party to grant them 'elevation' to the 'Upper House' together with a fancy title and ermine robes; the right to attend all manner of state functions and a status that they never enjoyed as elected representatives.

What rubbish is this ? Whatever one's political persuasion, the House of Lords as it is currently configured is unsustainable and must go. Governments have been promising full reform for more than a century and little real progress has been made other than to make the House evermore political in nature. The nay-sayers should be silenced and the House should be reformed as a matter of urgency; despite the claims made, it is an important issue, indeed it is a vital one in any nation that calls itself 'Democratic'.