A new briefing from the Electoral Reform Society has revealed a ‘startling warped’ picture in the latest Lords appointments [1].
Key findings:
- A majority of the 36 new peers (58%) were primarily elected politicians prior to entering the Lords – more than double the proportion of the current peers in the Lords, according to the research
- Not a single peer – out of 800 Lords – has a primary working background in manual work or skilled trades
- Just 2% of peers have have a primary working background in medical and healthcare work – compared to around one in ten of the workforce
- 6.4% of peers currently work in banking and finance, compared with roughly 3% of the public
- Once the new batch joins the Lords, 30% of peers will have come primarily from representative politics (primarily MPs and council leaders). Another 8% of peers are primarily political staff or activists, compared to a tiny fraction of the public.
- The majority of Johnson’s new peers belong to the Conservative grouping (53%), which increases the Conservatives’ presence in the Lords by 0.9 percentage points – the highest % rise of any group
- And less than a third of new appointments are female, which will do almost nothing to combat the gender imbalance in the second chamber.
Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said:
“Far from being a bastion of independence, these findings show that the House of Lords is packed with ex-MPs and party activists – handed votes on our laws for life with no accountability.
“This latest batch of cronyistic appointments only exacerbates the problem. Despite No 10 briefing that these peerages would honour Britain’s medical heroes, the health sector is grossly under-represented. Instead, the PM’s pals in journalism and finance have been rewarded, while the full breadth of experience in Britain is unheard. The Lords was already warped – and it’s getting worse. Voters have had enough.
“This private member’s club has got to be overhauled, to give voters the final word on who sits in our revising chamber. We need a fairly-elected upper house that can truly reflect Britain today. As it stands, the Lords is making a mockery of Parliament. When trust in politics is at rock bottom, the government must do the right thing and mend the rot.”
A petition to scrap and replace the unelected House of Lords with a PR-elected chamber has neared 380,000 signatures [2] following the Prime Minister’s widely-criticised move to pack the chamber with 36 new peers.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Professions
| Primary profession | Current peers | % | New peers | % | All peers (inc. new additions) | % |
| Representative politics | 218 | 28.2% | 21 | 58.3% | 239 | 29.6% |
| Political staff and activists | 66 | 8.5% | 1 | 2.8% | 67 | 8.3% |
| Business and commerce | 65 | 8.4% | | | 65 | 8.0% |
| Legal professions | 53 | 6.9% | | | 53 | 6.6% |
| Banking and finance | 49 | 6.3% | 3 | 8.3% | 52 | 6.4% |
| Higher education | 40 | 5.2% | 1 | 2.8% | 41 | 5.1% |
| Clergy or religious | 37 | 4.8% | | | 37 | 4.6% |
| Voluntary sector, NGOs and think tanks | 33 | 4.3% | | | 33 | 4.1% |
| Journalism, media and publishing | 31 | 4.0% | 4 | 11.1% | 35 | 4.3% |
| Other private sector | 28 | 3.6% | 1 | 2.8% | 29 | 3.6% |
| Trade unions | 20 | 2.6% | 1 | 2.8% | 21 | 2.6% |
| Culture, arts and sport | 19 | 2.5% | 2 | 5.6% | 21 | 2.6% |
| Agriculture and horticulture | 15 | 1.9% | | | 15 | 1.9% |
| Medical and healthcare | 15 | 1.9% | | | 15 | 1.9% |
| Armed forces | 15 | 1.9% | 1 | 2.8% | 16 | 2.0% |
| Other public sector | 12 | 1.6% | | | 12 | 1.5% |
| Civil service (UK) | 10 | 1.3% | 1 | 2.8% | 11 | 1.4% |
| International affairs and diplomacy | 10 | 1.3% | | | 10 | 1.2% |
| Unclassified | 9 | 1.2% | | | 9 | 1.1% |
| Architecture, engineering and construction | 8 | 1.0% | | | 8 | 1.0% |
| Police | 8 | 1.0% | | | 8 | 1.0% |
| Education and training (not HE) | 5 | 0.6% | | | 5 | 0.6% |
| Transport | 3 | 0.4% | | | 3 | 0.4% |
| Royal family staff | 2 | 0.3% | | | 2 | 0.2% |
| Local authority administration | 1 | 0.1% | | | 1 | 0.1% |
| Manual and skilled trades | 0 | 0.0% | | | 0 | 0.0% |
Sources used for the new appointments were the Spectator, Politico Playbook and referenced Wiki sources. Dods, online CVs, and referenced Wiki entries were used for the current peers.
[1] https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/House-of-Lords-Briefing-ERS-August-2020.pdf
[2] https://www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-no-more-unelected-peers-scrap-and-replace-the-house-of-lords-now-8a773851-b785-4652-9dc5-79b07a0de8d4
ERS research reveals that London and the South East are ‘dramatically over-represented’ in the second house, a finding exacerbated by the latest spate of appointments.
The ERS wants to see a far smaller, PR-elected Senate of the Nations and Regions to replace the Lords.