Peers out of line

The House of Lords has been taking chunks out of the EU Withdrawal Bill during its final stages in the upper chamber. The Government has suffered seven defeats at the hands of peers over matters ranging from the exercise of ministerial powers to the implications of a rejection of the final Brexit deal by MPS.

Some irritated Brexiteers have denounced the temerity of these unelected peers in seeking to thwart “the will of the people” and demanded the reform of the Upper House or even its abolition. They have some cause to regard the Lords as unrepresentative of the political balance in the country. The Opposition has a majority in the Upper House, with 296 Lib Dems and Labour peers to 248 Tories, with the balance held by crossbenchers. It is unsurprising that the Government has been defeated, not least when 20 or so Conservatives voted against it.

The job of the Lords is to act as a revising chamber to improve legislation, not to thwart the wishes of the Commons. Most peers know this because scores of them have served as MPS. Any amendments they make can be overturned by the Commons. If peers continue to insist upon changes, the Government can use the Parliament Act to override their objections. But this would delay legislation for a year; and in the case of Brexit would clearly be an attempt to wreck the process.

There are suspicions that Remainers in the Commons are colluding with peers to engineer a political crisis over Brexit. The Lords have a legitimate fiunction to perform in our bicameral democracy; but they must be careful not to overstep the mark, lest there be demands for it to become unicameral.