Scottish Daily Mail

Fury over PM’s bid to stuff Lords with Tory donors

He still wants 40 new peers after backlash at plan for 100

- By Daniel Martin Chief Political Correspond­ent

DAVID Cameron is at war with top civil servants over his plans to stuff the House of Lords with Tory donors.

The Prime Minister has put forward a list of almost 40 Conservati­ve supporters to be elevated to the peerage under Britain’s broken honours system.

Sources say these will include a ‘ big handful’ of businessme­n who have given thousands of pounds to the party.

But civil servants in the Cabinet Office are understood to have caused significan­t delay in the process by raising questions over the appropriat­eness of ennobling so many simply because they have put money into Tory coffers.

It was reported earlier this month that Mr Cameron had originally wanted to appoint 100 peers until being blocked by mandarins, although this was denied by Downing Street.

News that Mr Cameron is set to increase the size of the House of Lords still further – to make it easier to get Tory legislatio­n through – comes days after the forced resignatio­n of Lord Sewel after he was filmed snorting cocaine with prostitute­s.

The case highlighte­d the absurdity of the upper House, which is already the largest legislativ­e chamber outside China. The Mail revealed that peers were claiming £300 a day in allowances which hugely benefit those who live in London.

Sources said last night that the number of new Tory peers to be announced in the next few weeks will be in the ‘high thirties’. Controvers­ially, around ten Liberal Demo-

‘Will confirm public’s cynicism’

crats will also be ennobled – more than their number of MPs. About six Labour peers will be on the list, bringing the total to around 50. Earlier this week, Mr Cameron insisted he would go ahead with the appointmen­ts, saying it was important that the share of peers in the Lords reflects the share of MPs in the Commons.

He said this would not happen ‘in one go’ – indicating that however many peers he appoints this time there will be dozens more over the next few years.

The Prime Minister is keen to appoint so many Tory peers because although he has a slim majority in the Commons, he does not in the Lords – meaning he faces a far greater battle getting his policies through.

Speaking on Tuesday, he said: ‘It is important the House of Lords in some way reflects the situation in the House of Commons. At the moment it is well away from that.’ Under the Coalition, the Tories and the Lib Dems combined had a majority of politicall­y-aligned peers. But the Tories, now in government alone, fall far short.

The present tally is 227 Conservati­ve peers, 213 Labour, 102 Lib Dem, 26 bishops and 38 from other parties or non-affiliated, as well as 180 crossbench­ers. Earlier this month, Labour and Lib Dem peers defeated the Tories on devolution.

The three party leaders put forward nomination­s for new peers to be included in the dissolutio­n honours which follow a general election. These are then vetted by civil servants in the Cabinet Office and then by the independen­t House of Lords Appointmen­t Commission.

It has emerged that some of the names on Mr Cameron’s list caused consternat­ion amongst Whitehall mandarins – in particular the presence of donors. Sue Gray, head of ethics at the Cabinet Office, is understood to have been among those querying the number.

The House of Lords Appointmen­t Commission, which advises the Prime Minister on appointmen­ts but cannot veto them, has met to consider the names and is still deliberati­ng. It had been expected that the list would be released this week or next, but some of those i nvolved say they believe the announceme­nt will have to be put back, possibly to September, because of the row over donors.

One source said: ‘We are expecting a big handful of Tory donors on the list. That’s just the nature of the thing. It wouldn’t surprise me if senior officials had not given some overall general advice that you’re likely to get questioned if you put too many donors in. The civil serv- ice are there to protect the institutio­ns of government and I am sure they would be very nervous of anything that could affect that.’

Last night a Downing Street spokesman said it was ‘untrue’ that the honours list had been held up by civil service concerns.

Experts say that if Mr Cameron continues to appoint peers, the size of the chamber could exceed 1,000 by 2020. Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said: ‘There could easily be 100 more Tory peers by the time of the next election. A House of Lords nearing 1,000 members is totally in conflict with its function as a revising legislativ­e chamber. The public will see this as part of their current cynicism about the British political system. It will confirm their view that the Lords is just for the elite and not for ordinary people.

The Electoral Reform Society says appointing 50 more peers would cost at least £1.3million a year in expenses and allowances.

Comment – Page 14

 ??  ?? Ermined elite: Peers file in for the State Opening of Parliament in May
Ermined elite: Peers file in for the State Opening of Parliament in May

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