Scottish Daily Mail

£300 a day to sit in the Lords? It’s not enough!

Scots peer: Travelling so much effort

- By Daniel Martin Policy Editor

A SENIOR peer sparked anger last night after complainin­g that the £300a-day tax-free allowance is inadequate for many in the House of Lords.

Edinburgh-born Lord Hope, the convener of the crossbench peers, suggested the amount was simply not enough to attract applicants from Scotland and Wales.

He admitted members of the Lords received £300 for every day they turn up, plus travel allowances, but added: ‘That’s all they get for their time and effort.’

This is despite the fact that if a peer turns up for every day the Lords sit, they will earn almost £45,000 a year – nearly twice the national average salary.

Lord Hope, a former judge, also argued against an elected House of Lords – saying retired generals, legal experts and top surgeons were too busy to stand for election. It came as MPs on a Commons select committee launched an attack on the unelected Upper House, describing its current set-up as ‘indefensib­le’.

Labour MP Paul Flynn hit out at party leaders such as David Cameron for packing the red leather benches with wealthy party donors, cronies and political aides.

Earlier this week, former Lords Speaker Baroness d’Souza admitted she abandoned a probe into peers ‘clocking on’ to collect their allowance – because it would lead to them being named and shamed.

Lord Hope of Craighead leads the crossbench peers – those who are not a member of a political party in the Lords. He is a former deputy president of the Supreme Court.

He made his controvers­ial remarks during an appearance before the Commons’ public administra­tion committee.

Lord Hope said: ‘I’m very much in favour of something which would increase the representa­tion from elsewhere than London.

‘I come from Scotland and I travel down every week from Scotland. I’m dependent on my £300 to pay my accommodat­ion. That’s all we get apart from travelling costs.

‘The question is – are people from Scotland or Wales and the remoter parts of England prepared to contribute to the work of the House when that’s all they get out of it from the point of view of covering their costs and the time and effort it takes to travel between the two places?’

Labour MP John Mann said Lord Hope should consider his position. He said: ‘He should retire. I can get a thousand immediate applicatio­ns for this cosy number from my constituen­cies. If he won’t go then we should retire him compulsory.’

Lord Hope also rejected calls for an elected Lords, saying it would deprive Parliament of expertise. ‘Most of them, not all, would never dream of standing for election, partly because they don’t have the time to do that,’ said the peer, who has been in the House for 22 years.

A total of 804 peers are crammed into the House of Lords.

Mr Flynn said: ‘The position of the Lords is one that is indefensib­le in so many ways. The number of peers, the fact it is possible to buy a place in the Lords if you contribute enough to any of the three main parties, it over-represents London and under-represents Scotland; all the problems that arise, all the illogical things that come from it.’

 ??  ?? Former judge: Lord Hope
Former judge: Lord Hope

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