Why we now need an elected second chamber
SIR – Tradition is not serving our democracy well in the House of Lords (“The ‘silent peers’: one in seven lords claimed £1.3m in allowances despite not speaking in debates”, report, telegraph.co.uk, September 21).
With a deluge of Brexit legislation washing its way through the second chamber, we need an active body to scrutinise and refine the legislation that will regulate our lives, environment and economy. It is important work that should be carried out by an elected second chamber.
I admire the wealth of experience within the current House of Lords and I hope that any reform would seek to retain the advice of peers who are willing to turn up and share that experience, but actual voting should be left to people who have been elected, preferably by a system of proportional representation. Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Green Party
London SW1
SIR – I do not defend for a moment peers who do little or nothing in the House of Lords. It was one of the reasons that I set up a committee under Lord Burns last year to examine ways in which the House could be reduced in numbers. This followed a motion passed by peers themselves, without any vote against.
The essence of the Lords is that peers check and improve Bills which come from the Commons. In 2016/17, members tabled and debated 5,608 amendments to legislation, and asked the Government 7,395 written questions. More than 320 members serve on select committees during a session, publishing 170 reports in 2016/17. The chairs of these committees receive no additional remuneration.
Members are not salaried and receive no other payment beyond the £300 (or £150) they can claim if they attend a sitting of the House and undertake parliamentary work. This allowance must cover all the costs they incur in undertaking their role, including the increasing costs of staying in London.
Nobody claims that the Lords is perfect, but I doubt if sensible reform will be much advanced by the Electoral Reform Society’s patently absurd claims that peers are “lobby fodder” and that they support “a something-for-nothing culture”. Lord Fowler
Lord Speaker, House of Lords London SW1