Is the House of Lords good for democracy?

THE House of Lords is an anachronism in a democracy. If it is to continue and wants to have an input into legislation then it must open itself up to democratic principles, of which scrutiny and transparency are key. Why is the House of Lords more concerned with foreigners above the people of the UK whom it purports to represent? Rather than their selection being a ‘gift’, it is time that those who wish to serve in the Lords stand for election so that the people, over whom they hold power, may select them on their merits. As we overthrew the Divine Right of Kings, we should now overturn the political luvvies’ right to rule.

Mrs IRIS DAINTON, Louth, Lincs. as I understand it, the House of Lords can’t stop something, only recommend that it be re-thought. If the Government is going to be bullied by an unelected body, what’s the point of having an elected body in the Commons? The parasites in the Lords are merely feeding on the Commons — and must be stopped.

MARY WIEDMAN, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. NO ONE would pretend that the House of Lords is perfect. But the form in which it exists is the result of hundreds of years of gradual changes. If there were an easy way of reforming it, you can bet Tony Blair would have found it. As things stand, we have a part-hereditary, part spiritual, part judicial, part political and part-crony Upper House which, for all its many faults, acts pretty effectively as a revising chamber, a useful check on some of the demagoguery and overenthusiasm of the Commons. The simplistic reaction of the Brexiteers to the Lords amendment votes shows how little political science is understood these days. M. TAYLOR, London N5.