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On the Labour House of Lords idea - the proposal is an elite-level wonk solution - short thread (1/)
There's an acceptance that an appointed/hereditary House of Lords in the current model is unfit for purpose. This has been accepted for many years - last attempt to sort things out was the Wakeham Commission; whose report "A House for the Future" is nearly two decades old (2/)
The issues come with the way that the composition of the Lords is bound up with its role and with its legitimacy. Reform involves unpicking all of these issues simultaneously. (3/)
So you can't just say "let's make it all elected!". Because if it's elected then it has similar legitimacy - by virtue of election - as the lower House. Which means that its powers should also be increased to reflect this (4/)
Enhance legitimacy (and powers) and you get the same situation as you get in places like Italy - two chambers with broadly similar powers and composition who duplicate each others' work, leading to legislative sclerosis. (5/)
The Lords serves a unique function as an advisory chamber, exerting scrutiny. The difference in its composition - having peers with a huge range of life experiences - is one of its greatest strengths (6/)
But you need some democratic legitimacy. So a lot of people have alighted on tweaks to appointment - making the process of appointing life peers more transparent, making the House half-elected and half-appointed, etc etc (7/)
The Royal Commission explored all of these options. They're all a bit awkward though. One other option is indirect election, which I think is the Labour plan. Local councillors, who are themselves elected, elect fellow councillors to sit in the Lords. (8/)
More legitimacy than now - but not so much that you have to upset the constitutional apple cart. The Commons retains primacy by virtue of direct election (9/)
(The other option is of course membership by sortition - the Lords as a standing citizens' assembly. At the time of the Royal Commission this was considered very much a fringe view - now? Perhaps not so much...) (10/)
Anyway, I'd be keen to see these reforms introduced. A strong national voice for local government and a conclusion to the process of Lords reform which began in 1909. So only about a century overdue. (11/ends)
