Replace The House Of Lords With This
Political Leaders
It shouldn’t be controversial in the 21st Century that citizens have direct oversight of their representatives and, in that way, over the laws that govern them.
The model we're calling for is the best of all worlds. It keeps a place for specialist knowledge while democratising the House, expanding regional equity and social unity. We can find proven concepts around the world, replicate what they do well and learn from the challenges they’ve encountered. This isn’t just about the principle of a modern, representative government but fundamental to a greater quality of legislation and empowered citizens who feel tangible ownership over a government that they can see themselves in.
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To:
Political Leaders
From:
[Your Name]
We Note:
• The Lords has influence over legislation but is virtually unaccountable to the public
• The Lords is the second largest legislative chamber in the world, completely disproportionate to population size
• Attendance averages only around 50%
• The £323 daily sitting fee – almost equal to monthly universal credit for a single person over 25 – totals £250,000 per day if all Lords attended
• The Lords lacks geographic, gender, race, class, sectoral or political representation
• Lords’ appointment is often a reward for political favours and / or donations
We Believe:
• The Lords is antiquated and inherently harmful to democracy, representation, social mobility, national unity, scrutiny and quality of legislation
• A new chamber should contain specialist knowledge, regional equity and democratic representation. We should look to e.g. Ireland, Germany, Australia
• Previous cross-party attempts at reform have been welcome but inadequate
We're calling for:
• Replacing the House of Lords with a UK Senate
• Senate seats will be:
- 25% vocational experts with no party affiliation or previous political donations; divided evenly across different sectors (e.g. business, labour, public services, agriculture, arts, academia)
- 25% equal representatives of all nations and regions
- 50% directly (proportionally) elected
- Term limited
• Legislative and scrutiny powers will be comparable with the Commons; joint sittings will be employed to avoid gridlock or by default on certain matters
• The Senate will be located centrally to the UK and make use of remote communication technology
• To consult with the public on a new name for the House of Commons.