Retaining the House of Lords

The recent cash for influence affair has lent further weight to the argument for introducing a fully elected second chamber.  Rachel Sylvester in the Times isn’t so sure:

‘It is fashionable to use the recent allegations to make the case for an elected House of Lords. But this would be yet another step down the road of creating a professional political class - precisely the thing the voters detest. There is a danger of ending up with an Upper House stuffed full of B-division apparatchiks who had failed to get a seat in the lower one. It is, after all, the professional politicians, rather than the Lords amateurs, who have caused all the recent problems.

I would prefer to see a house of appointed experts - some retired, some not - who could serve a fixed term. There is an appealing logic to the argument for an elected senate but, if enacted, the idea would turn out to be deeply flawed. Be careful what you wish for lest it come true.’

Select committees: Parliament is not dead [25 Sep 2011]
Introduction to AS: constitutional change [15 Sep 2011]
In defence of the Lords, again [1 Sep 2011]
When is a minister not a minister? When, one hopes, he’s being an MP! [26 Aug 2011]
Lords: time for a change? [27 Jun 2011]
The Speaker, Controversy and Parliamentary Reform [19 Jan 2011]
Parliament is not dead [18 Jan 2011]
AS Politics update: Parliament [13 Dec 2010]
Rebels, rebels. The party’s a mess. AS Politics update: effectiveness of Parliament [10 Dec 2010]
More peers than MPs? Surely some mistake [19 Nov 2010]
Whither Parliament? [14 Nov 2010]
MPs are revolting (even more) [9 Nov 2010]
What is a hung parliament? [13 Mar 2010]
Beefing up the Commons [14 Feb 2010]
Off with their heads… [28 Oct 2009]
The blog is back [31 Aug 2009]
Parliamentary graffiti? [14 Jul 2009]
AS Revision: Constitutional Reform [26 May 2009]
AS revision: decline of Parliament [23 May 2009]
AS/A2 revision: Whither Parliament? [17 May 2009]
AS revision: Parliamentary scrutiny [15 May 2009]
UK politics documentary heads up [18 Apr 2009]
Parliament is revolting [8 Apr 2009]
Gordon’s ‘depression’ [4 Feb 2009]
Parliament and government: the basics [4 Feb 2009]
The Big Question: House of Lords reform [3 Feb 2009]
House of Lords reform: what’s the argument? [22 Aug 2008]