Reform to the Lords

Question 1

Question

Answer 1

Evaluate the view that the House of Lords is in urgent need of reform.

Question 2

Factors

Answer 2

• Legitimacy
• Effectiveness
• Balance of power between the Houses

Question 3

Judgement

Answer 3

Not in need of URGENT reform but modernisation would help the house to be more efficient.

Question 4

Weaker argument - legitimacy

Answer 4

→ The House of Lords lacks democratic legitimacy because it is unelected - amends legislation from the Commons when it doesn’t have a mandate to do so.
→ Presence of hereditary peers 92 remain is outdated and undemocratic.
→ Scandals such as ‘Cash for Peerages’ has undermined public trust in peers.
→ We should reform the appointment system to the Lords to make it more legitimate.

Question 5

Stronger argument - legitimacy

Answer 5

→ Life peer appointments allow for diversity of expertise not dependent on political campaigning - Baroness Altman campaigning for pensioners.
→ Removing hereditary peers partially modernized the Lords through the House of Lords Act 1999.
→ Keir Starmer has pledged to remove the final 92 hereditary peers.
→ Don’t need to make the chamber elected to give it legitimacy but a reform to the appointment system could modernise the chamber.

Question 6

Weaker argument - effectiveness

Answer 6

→ The Lords’ effectiveness is undermined by its size (801 members) and lack of accountability.
→ The Salisbury Convention means the power of the Lords is undermined.
→ The Lords cannot comment on ‘money bills’.

Question 7

Stronger argument - effectiveness

Answer 7

→ The Lords plays a vital role in scrutinizing legislation - e.g. Police (Detention and Bail) Bill 2011 - The Constitution Committee highlighted constitutional implications forcing the bill to be amended.
→ Often improves legislation, particularly on technical issues e.g., Brexit legislation.
→ Roughly 1/4 of peers are crossbenchers meaning our second chamber is much less partisan - comparison with USA.

Question 8

Weaker argument - power balance with Commons

Answer 8

→ The lack of formal power for the Lords under the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 creates a power imbalance.
→ The Commons can overrule the Lords after a one-year delay - they can only veto for a year.
→ An elected second chamber could provide a stronger counterbalance to the Commons.

Question 9

Stronger argument - power balance with Commons

Answer 9

→ The current balance prevents legislative deadlock, a common issue in bicameral systems with co-equal chambers (e.g., the U.S.).
→ A clear example of gridlock occurring between the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate is the 2018-2019 government shutdown, which was triggered by disagreements over funding for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
→ The Lords’ advisory role complements the elected Commons, maintaining Parliamentary sovereignty.