Liberal Democrats’ new Lords outnumber their MPs in Commons

THE number of Liberal Democrats awarded peerages yesterday exceeded the number of MPs they have in the Commons.

Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader was able to ennoble 11 of his colleagues as well as hand out a string of honours.

The party’s peerage list is dominated by MPs who either stood down or lost their seats in the general election rout.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the former party leader, and former ministers Lynne Featherstone, Sir Andrew Stunell and Don Foster will be entering the Lords. Mr Clegg’s chief of staff while in government, Jonny Oates, was also given a peerage.

Danny Alexander, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, and Vince Cable, the former business secretary, were given knighthoods after turning down peerages.

Four Lib Dem donors were given honours.

Duncan Greenland, who has donated a total of £316,858 to the party since 2004 was awarded a CBE.

Ian Wright, a donor and adviser to Mr Clegg and director of the Food and Drink Federation, was also awarded a CBE. Anthony Ullman, who has given the Lib Dems £108,000 in total and £30,000 directly to Mr Clegg, was given a knighthood.

And Richard Duncalf, a party adviser and long-term donor, was given an OBE.

Tim Farron, the new Lib Dem leader, insisted the party was still “committed to root and branch reform of the House of Lords”.

Shas Sheehan, a Lib Dem councillor, was given a peerage despite only serving the party for four years and standing as a candidate in the election.

She was described by one party source as “the least capable or deserving” appointment by the Lib Dems.

“Today heralded the elevation of possibly the least capable or deserving person to ever be made a peer in the history of the Lib Dems,” the source told The Spectator.

“An example of cretinous ‘ box-ticking’ politics so odious and naked I am ashamed to be associated with the party.” The Lib Dems said Ms Sheehan was given her peerage because of her involvement in charities. She worked as a chemistry teacher and as an auxiliary nurse before becoming a councillor.

Despite his peerage, Sir Menzies said that his ennoblement “will not in any respect change my belief that it’s time we had reform” of the Lords.

Although they amassed nearly 5 million votes between them at the general election, neither Ukip nor the Green party were allowed to name any new peers.

The Liberal Democrats did well in the dissolution honours. They were given 11 peerages. That is three more than their total number of MPs, and brings their representation in the House of Lords to 112. This comes a few months after their humiliating defeat at the ballot box. By contrast, Ukip, which did much better in May, gained no new peers at all. The contradiction is deeply unfair.

It also betrays hypocrisy. The Lib Dems have long championed the cause of constitutional reform, with a mix of obsessiveness and selfsatisfaction that turned everyone else off the subject. And yet at the very moment when the Lords does genuinely appear bloated, it is their party that adds to the problem – with a batch of new peers that in no way reflects popular support. Lord Wallace, the leader of the Lib Dem group, said that they would be joining a glorious fight for greater democracy. He also boasted that his party had “made life difficult for a Tory Government”. And from where did they get their democratic mandate to do that?

By retaining their vast representation in the Lords, the Lib Dems cling on to political relevance. Certainly their handful of MPs makes little impact. Tim Farron, the new leader, lacks charisma and by moving to the Left has missed a chance to offer a centrist alternative to Labour. Even with Labour tearing itself apart, apparently on the verge of electing a hard-Left socialist, Mr Farron’s party is still stuck at a tawdry 8 per cent in the polls. If their much-loved principle of proportional representation was applied to the Lords today, they would have just 66 peers. Oddly, this is one reform they do not seem to be pushing.