Lords’ antics over Brexit put upper chamber in the firing line
Brexiteers like me are in a small minority in the House of Lords. So we had to endure far too many speeches yesterday from Peers that would begin “Of course I respect the result of the referendum, but ...”, and then outline why they didn’t at all. These unabashed Remainers, typically former European commissioners, Foreign Office officials and quangocrats, still can’t accept what the British people wanted.
They tried to weigh the Brexit Bill down with a range of demands, including a second referendum or a “meaningful vote” for Parliament on the terms of exit. But the only point of the legislation is to give notification of Britain’s intention to withdraw from the European Union by invoking Article 50. All of their amendments have been a huge distraction. They may call it “scrutiny”, but it was little more than an attempt to sabotage the democratic process.
Outside Westminster, people reading about the Lords’ antics will be shaking their heads in despair and wondering why on earth we are messing them about. The public contempt for the political class has been amply demonstrated across Western democracies already. When they see wellheeled peers standing up and arguing against what the public voted for in one of the biggest democratic exercises in history, their disgust will only grow.
But peers clearly have no interest in what the people think. If they only came up with me to Newcastle to meet some normal people in the pub, they would find out pretty quickly. The British people gave us their instructions, and it’s wrong for Lords to drag their heels.
Not that the House of Lords does no essential work. On the contrary it is home to many people who want to make serious contributions. For example, we have been conducting a number of brilliantly detailed inquiries into the policy implications of Brexit.
Yet it could be all be put at risk by grandstanding Remainers. Their posturing has given a lot of ammunition to those who would like to see the Lords reined in, or perhaps abolished. They are not just putting themselves in the firing line by trying to subvert Brexit, but the upper chamber itself.
Not all are so blind to the consequences of their behaviour. I was heartened to see a number of Lords who backed Remain now wanting to get on with Brexit.
But others are still trying to fight the campaign, even though the public has long since left them behind.
They can’t even pretend to have made worthwhile suggestions in their amendments. They forced one through last week about protecting the rights of European migrants living in Britain which was just virtue-signalling in legislative form. No one disagrees with them in wanting to protect these rights, so all it does is tie Theresa May’s hands as she prepares to negotiate for the best deal.
The Lords has not covered itself in glory with its scrutiny of the Brexit Bill, which now finds itself heading back to the Commons.
If the Lords holds it up any further on its return to the upper chamber, we’ll be heading into a deeper constitutional crisis. My fellow Lords must now sense the public mood and put their personal preferences aside, however ardent their Europhilia may be, for the national interest.
For the sake of our democracy, I hope sensible voices prevail.