On Monday, Charlotte Owen, 30, took her seat in the House of Lords. She has gone from being a parliamentary intern to a baroness in five years and eight months. Why? We don’t know. We can’t know. It’s the system, stupid.
A few days earlier, Ross Kempsell, all of 31, a political player in team Boris, and Shaun Bailey, the failed mayoral candidate, were admitted to the hallowed chamber. Outrage rippled through the land, this time, more intense than ever because they were nominees of a former prime minister who is a known fabricator and rule-breaker. The ritual wails and howls will soon subside. Until Liz Truss’s chosen ones get enrobed.
Unworthy or untrustworthy Lords and Ladies – of whom there are too many – are living proofs of unsavoury favouritism. All our political parties are at it. Most Britons see that and are vexed. They focus on particular scandals and politicians, not on the historical and structural edifices that shield and safeguard the members from proper scrutiny and accountability.
Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society has aptly described the place as a “bloated private member’s club”. And like those clubs, its rulebooks are opaque, its priority is privacy. Would an elected second chamber be an answer? Perhaps. But that would replicate tribal politics. The best peers are those who are independent. I think an open application process, like any other job would be better.
As taxpayers we are surely entitled to know what vetting goes on, what mechanisms exist to veto, expel, fine or ban those who fail to fulfil their obligations. All that should be up on their website. Instead, the institution is shrouded in heavy cloaks of secrecy and loyalty.
When in 2018, the Lib Dem’s Lord Lester was accused by Jasvinder Sanghera of sexual harassment, Labour, Lib Dem and Tory grandees impugned the complainant, a feisty Asian woman who founded a charity to help victims of forced marriage and other violations. She alleged he had pressured her for sex in exchange for a peerage. Several investigations found against Lester, who strongly denied the allegations, but still, his fellow peers declared Lester a man of matchless integrity. I knew him. He took me out to lunches, never tried it on, but flirted and made unacceptable comments about “beautiful” Indian women. So I believed Sanghera. They couldn’t because he was one of them.
This is not to devalue all peers. Many are hard-working, highly intelligent, experienced and committed to public life. Their debates on the Government’s shameful Illegal Migration Bill were more profound and erudite than you ever get in the raucous Commons. Many of them are dear friends. I fear that the respect they deserve is now draining away in the House of ill repute. The second largest legislative chamber in the world – China has the largest – is unfit for purpose and cannot be remodelled or renewed.
In 2006, Tony Blair’s fixer Lord Levy was accused of offering big loaners to the party – Tony’s cronies – a comfy seat in the Lords. Arrests were made. Blair acknowledged that the public trust was affected by stories but said no rules were broken. Charges were not pursued. The decay in standards continues.
Evgeny Lebedev, the well-connected Russian has a cursory attendance record; Lord Bamford, a generous Tory benefactor, has spoken five times in total; I know Labour peers who keep the title but don’t show up.
Then there are the assiduous expenses collectors. Crossbencher tycoon Khalid Hameed, a nominee of a Lib Dem Lord, claimed more than £18,000 in one year in expenses despite not speaking or voting; the Lib Dem’s Lord David Goddard pocketed £67,000 over 12 months for six banal contributions and the historian Peter Hennessy got £5,192 without much active participation. This has been going on for decades. Can there be any other job in the world where there is no censure for poor performance or engagement?
The millionairess Michelle Mone, a Cameron appointee, arranged for Covid PPE contracts worth £220m to go to a particular company. Last year the National Crime Agency began a major investigation into the PPE contracts following secret payments she allegedly received from that happy firm. She has taken leave of absence to “clear her name”. Where is she? Why are we not told anything about the investigation? If found guilty, will she be ejected from the Lords? Of course not.
Promises made by leaders to end malpractices are never kept. Last November, Sir Keir Starmer slammed the Tories for handing peerages to “lackeys and donors” and vowed to create an elected second house. Last month Mr Starmer vowed to create dozens of more Labour peers to help get legislation passed. Oh My.
Last week, Lord True, a Tory said in the House: “We think that members of the House of Lords Appointments Commission do a good job and I have every confidence that new members coming in will do the same.” To which Baroness Jenny Jones replied: “The Green Party believes that that system is archaic and corrupt.” She is right. But the beneficiaries of the status quo do not listen and never will.