‘Smug’ peers told they risk drawing public contempt
Lord McNally, stressing the need for change, hit out against a House of Lords “self confidently smug about its own rectitude”.
And, at question time yesterday, he urged peers to proceed with “dignity and responsibility” in developing a chamber fit for the 21st century.
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Hide AdLord McNally’s warning came after a committee yesterday backed plans for a slimmed-down Lords, 80 per cent elected, each serving a single 15-year term, but said that the reforms should be put to a referendum.
The cross-party panel of 26 MPs and peers was deeply split on several issues, with 12 members signing an alternative report calling for the establishment of a Constitutional Convention to assess the implications of change.
With a Lords reform bill expected to be a centrepiece of the 9 May Queen’s Speech, the scene is set for months of bitter wrangling.
As the issue surfaced yesterday in the Lords ahead of a full-scale debate next Monday, Lord McNally insisted the status quo was not an option.