Labour are all about destroying stuff. They have already pretty much killed off the House of Lords and filled it with political cronies, so why not go the whole hog?
The government is proposing to banish all remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords in the biggest shake-up of parliament in a quarter century.
The UK’s 92 remaining hereditary peers – who have inherited their titles from their parents – will lose their right to sit and vote in the upper chamber under proposals put forward by ministers on Thursday.
On the face of it, the Lords was always an undemocratic anachronism. However, it was the one thing we could rely on to put a check on the commons. It was precisely because the hereditary peers didn’t have one eye on the next election, that they could take a long term view. So, anachronism or not, I would take the hereditary peers over political placemen every day.
Another little bit of Britain is to be finally expunged under the jackboot of 2TK’s Soviet Imperialism.
Personally I would rather have a jury system. I recently beta read a sci-fi book in which the second chamber of every country in the world is a jury and it is so popular that it is a public holiday!
In essence, the Athenian method. As Stony says below, it’ll never fly. The scum wouldn’t allow it.
I can’t see that flying, handing over the power to veto demented government policies to random proles, it’s not going to happen is it? Still a brilliant idea though.
I’d be more impressed if they expelled the 26 CofE Bishops who get a seat there by virtue of their job. Democracy eh?
In a sense England&Wales, and then Scotland and Northern Ireland got unlucky. If the union had been built from the provinces up (cf. Australia and the USA even France where I think Brittany was independent for a long time) then there would be no need for these highly centralised chambers of power, but William the Conqueror came along and reinforced the unification of the southern parts of this place rather fast.
Back when there were all those public scandals about MPs’ expenses and rich people buying seats in the Lords, the main group of parliamentarians who were not involved were the hereditary peers. So the Government of the day threw them out (but for the above 92) and declared victory. Basically the corruptocrats won, and as you point out this is just the final mopping up.
I’ve served on a jury. I don’t think it’s a very good idea. Load of idiots sit on juries (me excepted, of course).
But would we get more or less idiots in a Jury than we get elected?
But they would be our idiots.
Maybe they would be idiot enough to ask the stupid questions.
Like, “Why is our All Wise Leader lying?”
Whereas the “clever” people know that you do not ask a question when you know you will not like the answer. The people who frame the briefs for public inquiries know this. So THE outcome of the covid inquiry is “Boris was a very naughty boy!”
I’d like to see a sensible reform of the House of Lords. But we’re not going to get sensible from this government, are we?
I would have a 2nd parliament, elected via proportional voting. And nothing can be passed unless both chambers agree.