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For all those who think Labour's jazzy idea of getting rid of the House of Lords is a brilliant move against the so-called rich upper classes, I would point out that it is a dangerous move that will remove all control over governments.

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Government defeats in the Lords

Government Session Number of defeats Conservative 2021‑2022 128 Conservative 2019‑2021 114 Conservative 2019‑2019 1
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in reply to dick_turpin

chrisjrob
chrisjrob
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They aren't only abolishing it, they are also replacing it with regionally elected house. There is potential danger of course, but it could/should result in a greater mandate and thus a more powerful and democratic second chamber.
in reply to chrisjrob

dick_turpin
dick_turpin
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We already have an elected house; it's called: The House of Commons.
in reply to dick_turpin

chrisjrob
chrisjrob
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One is not enough. We have three pillars of our democracy - the Crown, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Only one of those currently has any significant power, and this makes us enormously vulnerable. We need a rebalancing of our democracy, ideally with three powerful institutions, but accepting that's impossible with our monarchy, then at least the second house needs some proper power.
in reply to chrisjrob

dick_turpin
dick_turpin
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The answer is really simple. All it requires is a name change. Personally, I prefer "The Upper House." I don't even think it's necessary to kick out anyone with a title, given over half of them are former MPs anyway.
in reply to dick_turpin

chrisjrob
chrisjrob
• •

Yes, potentially, but I think the key benefit to them being elected is the increased mandate it will give the house.

I was actually largely in favour of our rather idiosyncratic second chamber until recently, but have become increasingly concerned by some of the people being awarded peerages.

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