Why Britain needs to have elected senators

IN our modern state, the executive has become too powerful.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons is undoubtedly much weaker than it was 20 years ago. But in the reform of the House of Lords, there is a unique opportunity to reform the British constitution, a chance to create a chamber of some significance, one that can provide proper checks and balances against ill-thought-out legislation and against the unfettered exercise of executive power. That is what we must now create.

The only parliamentary chamber that can have any proper legitimacy is a democratically elected one. We are meant to be the mother of democracies, so most other countries will be astounded to discover that we are proposing to replace a largely hereditary chamber with one that is a combination of an honours list and various appointments of the great and the good, and only secondarily of representative people. With democracy comes legitimacy, with democracy people acquire the ability to hold a powerful government properly to account. The argument in the Commons is usually that an elected second chamber will be a threat to the power of the Commons. For that reason we should set out in statutory form the precise composition and powers of an elected House of Lords. The subject is still open for debate amongst supporters of an elected chamber, but my own view is that we should have a chamber to which members are elected for six years and a third retire every two years for re-election. By statute it should be made clear that they have no power to alter taxation, no powers over public spending priorities and that they cannot reject a bill which has had a second reading in the House of Commons. BUT they would have full powers to amend, full powers to revise, and they would have clear power to delay any legislation, requiring the Commons to look at it again, with perhaps a two-year "breathing space" built in. That would bring us more in line with most other developed states in the Western World which have a bicameral system, states that expect to have an elected second house which provides checks and balances. Our new chamber would be rather more senatorial. It would lack key powers on tax and spending, and the power to remove the Government. It would be less ferociously engaged in the day-today political debate but it could be an extremely effective place in areas of high controversy in causing revision, delay and promoting proper debate. A good body of backbenchers on both sides frontbenchers weren't invited to sign - came together to place yesterday's Early Day Motion, which calls for such a solution. There are more than 100 supporters from the Left and Right of all parties: there's Tony Benn and Mark Fisher, Roger Gale and myself. We are fearful of the air of inevitability that is about, the apparent willingness to accept that everything to do with the second chamber is going to be determined by a commission of people - of all parties - who have all been appointed by the Prime Minister to come up with a solution that the Prime Minister finds attractive. We think it is time Members of Parliament demanded sensible constitution-making that is likely to command public support and legitimacy. We believe that our statement should shake the party leaderships of all sides out of their complacency. It seems to us that there is only one solution likely to command popular support: an elected chamber. I wait to see what Lord Wakeham's Royal Commission on the future of the Lords comes up with. But I fear they have been strongly steered towards a nominated second chamber which would be a powerless and ineffectual resting place for distinguished people in the latter stage of their careers. I don't think the Government - and therefore John Wake-ham - have any particular view of strengthening the powers of the House of Lords. They are mainly interested in its composition and the idea that it should be a House of Elders, representing the great and the good. William Hague has also set up a commission. My understanding is that his commission is going to produce a range of options. I have no idea whether an elected chamber will be one of them. We are deliberately trying to get in before these commissions report. I don't think anybody should be appointed to a Parliament by the Government of the day. I do not favour the system of life peers lasting much longer. People who say that we should have a mixed chamber are, I'm afraid, people who want to retain a pleasant club and a debating chamber, made up of people who are reluctant to retire from public life but don't want to go through the process of election any more. If we want to continue the British tradition of conferring honours, we can still call people Lord Something or Baroness Something. But we don't have to make them members of a modern legislature. They can be like the Companions of Honour: they may be allowed to attend once a year for the State Opening of Parliament, if they choose. People are already considering which distinguished bodies, what range of religious affiliations, what range of trade associations or trade unions should nominate their representatives to a second chamber. The fact is that a large proportion of citizens don't think such an idea adequately represents them or anything to do with them. People feel most comfortable being governed by those whom they have had a say in appointing. What is currently proposed by Mr Blair and his colleagues is more in the nature of oligarchy. THE problem is that when this process started, the Government had no policy on the subject at all, other than a populist desire to get rid of the hereditary peers, and now they find themselves dangerously exposed. They are trying to get a committee to come up with a plan which causes them the minimum inconvenience and keeps most powers of patronage in the hands of the Prime Minister. But no Prime Minister should be allowed to appoint people to the legislature when the legislature's chief responsibility is to hold the Prime Minister to account.

Copyright 1999
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