It is time for this institution to be replaced by a council of the people, but Starmer may not have the stomach for reform
The most telling fact about the House of Lords is that not one living prime minister has deigned to darken its door. They know too much of its deals, kickbacks and cronyism to be reminded of them round every corner. Yes, there are impressive peers, but they are captives of a roughly 800-member club that has become the laughing stock of British democracy. Revelations such as those recently in the Guardian about the Conservative peer Michelle Mone have become all too common.
Once again reform is in the air – this time from a former prime minister, Gordon Brown, advising a probable future one, Keir Starmer. Brown is eager for a new chamber to level up the regions and nations of the United Kingdom. Starmer, who recently proposed his controversial colleague Tom Watson for a peerage, is reportedly showing signs of hesitancy. The raw fact is that Lords membership is a potent loyalty weapon in any party leader’s pocket.
Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
