Thursday, 18 Apr 2024

Two thirds of Brits back plans to ditch House Of Lords packed with PM’s cronies

Nearly three-quarters of Brits want the House Of Lords overhauled after the PM packed it with “cronies”.

A new poll found 71% of the nation is against the current system in which peers are appointed by the Prime Minister – rather than elected – to Parliament’s second chamber.

Around 43% want members to be partially or entirely elected.

While 28% think the Lords should be abolished entirely, only 12% of the population is happy with its current composition, according to a survey by pollsters Survation for the Electoral Reform Society which has collected a 400,000-signature petition calling for an overhaul.

Darren Hughes of the Electoral Reform Society said: "The public are clear. They are sick to the back teeth of the bare-faced cronyism and political patronage that plagues the unelected House of Lords.

"The Prime Minister’s latest round of appointees represented yet another batch of political allies and financial backers getting handed lifetime seats in the Lords.

"Voters are rightly backing urgent reform.

"The high support for abolition should be a wake-up call for parties and peers to back real change before these calls grow louder.

"It is now urgent – for the sake of our democracy – that we move to a proportionally-elected revising chamber where voters decide who votes on our laws, not the Prime Minister.’’

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The findings follow PM Boris Johnson’s decision to pack the 800-strong chamber with a further 36 new peers, including allies and financial backers leaving the Lords boasting nearly 800 members.

The issue cuts across party and Leave-Remain divides.

The majority of respondents who voted Conservative or Labour in the 2019 general election and Leave or Remain in the EU referendum support either abolition or election.

Source: Read Full Article

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