Reform call over scandal of idle Lords
CAMPAIGNERS yesterday called for “root and branch” Lords reform after it emerged idle peers are raking in thousands.
Some peers – many of them already wealthy – get £40,000 a year for just a few hours’ attendance.
And they are not required to speak or vote to claim their £300-a-day attendance allowance.
Former Tory peer Lord Hanningfield, previously jailed for false accounting over his expenses, was said to have claimed £3300 for 11 days in 2015-16 when he contributed to no votes and only one debate.
Lord Paul, a steel magnate worth £2billion, received £40,800 in expenses for 136 days in which he voted just four times of a possible 114. And crossbench peer Lord Carswell was said to have claimed £7800 for 29 days but did not vote or make any written or spoken contribution.
There is no suggestion the peers broke any rules or the law.
Former Lords Speaker Baroness D’Souza revealed last month that a probe into money-grabbing peers was dropped to protect them from a media storm.
Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: “It’s completely unacceptable that peers can claim thousands without even speaking or voting.
“It highlights the reality there is no accountability for peers – the public can’t kick them out if they fail to serve citizens’ interests”