End the peer show and try to preserve the union
FORMER Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned the UK risks becoming a “failed state” unless it finds a way to deal with tensions between central decision-makers in London and the rest of the country.
He’s concerned about the possibility of Scotland – possibly joined by Wales and even Northern Ireland – leaving the United Kingdom.
But as he made clear in an interview with BBC Radio 4, he’s also worried about relations between Westminster and decision-makers in the regions of England, as seen recently when Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham took on the Government over plans to impose tougher regional lockdown restrictions in his area.
A new study by the Electoral Reform Society suggests that London is still too powerful and the imbalance is seen clearly when you look at the make-up of the House of Lords.
The Lords isn’t often in the spotlight, as media attention focuses on the House of Commons.
But it helps make our laws, and peers hold government ministers to account by asking them questions.
But only 15 members live in the West Midlands region, according to research by the Electoral Reform Society.
It’s trawled through the details of every member of the House of Lords in an attempt to work out where they have their main home. It turns out 116 reside in London, and 100 live in the South-east.
It’s not always possible to work out where a peer has their main home, and in those circumstances the Electoral Reform Society has simply left them out of the equation.
If we look at every peer where their residence is known, just 3.1 per cent live in the West Midlands, even though the region has 8.8 per cent of the country’s population.
We’re not unusual. The East Midlands also has 15 peers, 3.1 per cent of the total where an address is known, despite making up 7.3 per cent of the population.
The North-west boasts 22 peers,
4.5 per cent of the total, but it has 11 per cent of the nation’s population.
The Electoral Reform Society says London, the South-east and the East of England are massively overrepresented in the Lords, with the proportion of peers from these three regions being 20 percentage points higher than their share of the UK population.
Apart from the
South-west (which is slightly overrepresented in the Lords) and Scotland (whose proportion of peers in the Lords is equal to its share of the UK population), every other region and nation is underrepresented in the chamber, with the North-west and Midlands losing out the most in representation.
The combined share of peers from these three regions in the Lords is 16 percentage points lower than their share in the UK population.
It is calling for a far smaller, proportionally-elected ‘‘senate of the nations and regions’’, which would serve as a scrutinising and revising chamber, and a voice for ‘‘levelling up’’ the whole UK. This would ensure that the West Midlands had its fair share of representation.
There are other problems with the current make-up of the House of Lords.
Analysis of Lords’ professions shows that not a single peer’s primary working background is in manual or skilled trades.
Just 15 peers have a background in medicine or healthcare.
Campaigners argue the chamber is ‘‘innately incapable of reflecting the breadth of experience in the UK’’, since the incentive is for prime ministers to use it as a ‘reward’ for donors and Westminster allies.
Over a third (37.9 per cent) of
Lords have a background in politics, whether as elected politicians or party staff or activists – meaning unelected politicians continue to hold sway over our laws.
And 72 per cent of Lords are male, while 54 per cent of Lords are aged over 70.
Willie Sullivan, senior director at the ERS, said: “The House of Lords is at the heart of Westminster’s constitutional crisis.
“Voters deserve so much better than a publicly-funded private member’s club packed to the hilt with party donors and allies.
“The Lords totally failing to reflect the diversity of knowledge and experience in this country, and the time is now for root-and-branch change.
“These new figures shine a light on the pressing need for reform. Westminster looks desperately outdated and warped, and the unelected second chamber plays a big role in this.
“The Prime Minister must heed these calls for change. A majority of voters across parties want to see a proportionally-elected second chamber which could truly help level up the whole UK.
“There is an opportunity to drag politics into the 21st century, and start to tackle the dire political inequality.
“For the PM, such a move might shape a union that people really want to be a part of.”
If we look at every peer where their residence is known, just 3.1 per cent live in theWest Midlands...