Essay On House Of Lords Reform

N0637984
Reform of Parliament.

Introduction:

Since 1997 the topic of parliamentary reform has been high on the political agenda. In 2010 the focus was on the House of Lords reform, however since then there has been a shift of focus to the House of Commons, though the Lords reform still remains a significant issue. A recent YouGov poll commissioned by Unlock Democracy found that ‘69% of voters support a reformed House of Lords’(2012). In 1999 the Labour government reduced the number of hereditary peers to 92. Although this may appear to be a ‘minor’ reform, it has since made the Lords more legitimate and has encouraged them to take more of an active role.

Since then all three main parties have been committed to further reform and proposals were included in the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Furthermore, on 14th May 2014 The House of Lords Reform Act received ‘Royal Assent.

Although they hold the power of proposing and delaying legislation, the chamber itself cannot claim legitimacy. This is because members of the House of Lords are appointed by the government for life, not elected by the people. Furthermore, bishops (currently 26) are also automatically made members, along with a number of hereditary peers (92).
In this report I will access various proposals and reforms of both the House of Lords and House of Commons.
Many suggestions have been put forward in attempt to reform the House of Lords, including the following:

- Abolition: Complete abolition of the second chamber. Legislatures in countries such as Norway, Sweden and New Zealand are unicameral and therefore only have one chamber. This option would not only save money but it would also enable scrutiny to be carried out in different ways for example through a strengthened committee