It has become the House of ( PM’s) Cronies

THROUGHOUT the democratic world ( as opposed to the much larger pseudo- democratic fraternity) I cannot think of any bicameral legislature other than ours which has an unelected upper house. We always tolerated ours because it was just a revising and improving chamber.

Many of the draft laws passed by the MPs and shoved upwards for consideration were imprecisely or just badly drafted and needed revising and editing before becoming understandable and enforceable law. That was where the calmer and often more erudite brains of their lordships came in.

Then as so much in modern Britain the concept of service yielded to the mastery of self- service. You could notice it in the quality of the nominations wafting up from Downing Street. Men and women of proven integrity diminished, replaced by crony- elevation, toe- suckers in ermine robes. Now servants of Brussels, many on fat EU pensions, predominate.

Measure after measure passed by the Commons ( for better or worse representing you and me) is being not revised, edited or clarified but flatly refused by some of the most undistinguished bipeds in Blighty.

At least these impudent mediocrities are doing us one favour. They are transforming root- and- branch reform of the House of Lords from a matter of interest to only a handful of constitution- nerds into a mass movement. Mrs May has a job to do, with a year to run. After that she will have a huge mandate for another job – spring clean.

If after Brexit she wants to hold another referendum, this time on Lords reform, she would have a mandate to bring tears to a crocodile’s eyes.