Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
Labor’s pledge to abolish the House of Lords has been called into question after the party acknowledged the need to appoint dozens of new MPs while prioritizing “reform” of the Second House. .
The party still insists it intends to abolish the House of Lords, and Sir Kier Starmer’s spokesman has further strengthened his pledge to abolish the Senate.
But under the current House of Lords structure, Labor would need to appoint 90 more to become the largest party, and the policy would need to be passed in parliament, within the first five years. Questions have arisen as to whether this is possible.
The party said it would prioritize “reform” in the first term, prompting speculation that the abolition of the nobility would not happen in the first few years of Labor’s government, but later.
In December, the Labor Party vowed to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected “national and local parliament”, a sweeping reform that was carried out during Lord Keare’s first few years as prime minister. There is speculation as to whether
A Labor spokesperson said this remained a priority for the first term, but later admitted that the nobility appointment process was “not a one-size-fits-all”. [but] This will take time, often longer than a government’s term of office. “
He said his new colleagues would be expected to support Labor’s policies, including the abolition of the aristocracy, and dismissed suggestions that this would create a conflict of interest.
But a spokesperson acknowledged that reforms, such as abolishing by-elections for the remaining hereditary nobility, could come before it is completely abolished.
“Reform of the House of Lords will take place in the first term of Labor’s government,” he said, adding: “There may be interim reforms along the way, but I’m not ruling out that.”
“Due to the nature of the appointment process, no government has won a majority in the House of Lords at the beginning of its administration,” the spokesman said.
“It is custom and practice that every government seeks to appoint a member of the House of Lords, but that is not a one-time thing, it takes time, and often takes more than one term of government to come to fruition. I have. “
Asked if the decommissioning plan would be withdrawn, a spokesperson denied this, saying: “If you are lucky enough to be elected to the government, it is absolutely imperative that you get the government’s job done.” said.
The Senate, one of the largest in the world, currently has 779 members. In December, Lord Keir said he would seek to abolish the House of Lords in his first few years after taking office as 10th and achieve “the greatest transfer of power from Westminster”.
The Labor Party announced that it would give local leaders more powers under a constitutional amendment based on a report of recommendations by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
At the time, he argued that the report’s recommendations could be implemented within the Labor government’s first term.
But he said there would first be “consultations” to determine exactly how the “devolution” from Westminster and Whitehall to local governments would work.