Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

House of Lords Reform

Thursday 23 January 2025 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government aims to pass the House of Lords Reform Bill by the end of the current parliamentary session.
  • Government committed to reforming the appointment process to better represent the UK.
  • Prime Minister's appointments of new Labour peers include citations detailing their experience and qualifications.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jade Botterill Lab Ossett and Denby Dale
Democracy & Elections
Context

The MP is concerned about the detachment young people feel from politics due to lack of representation in the House of Lords.

Question

How quickly can the Government make progress on this legislation so that all young people have an equal chance to make laws and shape our future, not just those born into privilege?

Answer from Nick Thomas-Symonds (Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we want to see this Bill on the statute book by the end of this Session. The role of hereditary peers is completely indefensible in this day and age. Last year, the Bill was resoundingly approved by this House, and it is currently going through the other place, where it will soon be in Committee.

Answered
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Q2 Mark Sewards Lab Leeds South West and Morley
Democracy & Elections
Context

The MP highlights that constituency boundaries ensure representation in the House of Commons but not in the House of Lords, which lacks regional representation.

Question

What work is being done or considered to remedy this lack of representation so that all communities are represented in the other place?

Answer from Nick Thomas-Symonds (Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office)

As the Member of Parliament for the seat where I grew up, I share my hon. Friend’s passion for representing my area. He will be aware of the Government’s manifesto commitment to reform the process of appointments to the House of Lords so that it better reflects the country it serves, and we will consult on proposals for an alternative second Chamber that is more representative of the nations and regions.

Partly answered

How: Will Focus On

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Q3 Brendan O’Hara SNP Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
Democracy & Elections
Context

The MP criticizes Labour for appointing peers to the House of Lords after accusing Conservatives of doing the same.

Question

How can the appointment of new Labour peers by the Prime Minister be justified as not an affront to democracy, given that it was previously condemned when done by the Tories?

Answer from Nick Thomas-Symonds (Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office)

I do not think the hon. Gentleman can seriously compare the appointments we have put forward with what happened under the Conservative party. We have already set out that each and every appointment will be accompanied by a citation indicating the experience to be brought to the upper House, and the people he refers to will make an excellent contribution there.

How: Does Not Address

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