Author Topic: The Lords  (Read 495 times)

ronyork

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The Lords
« on: Jun 18, 2018, 08:30:42 AM »
Is it time the House of Lords was abolished, A non elected body part residing  in a doss  house and a good income thrown in.

Ashy

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #1 on: Jun 18, 2018, 09:05:48 AM »
From time to time the lords have been useful but at present they are obstructing democracy. At the very least I think the appointed peers should have a limited term of say, 2 years. Otherwise perhaps an elected upper house? Most democracies have two chambers, maybe proportional representation would be a good thing.

ronyork

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #2 on: Jun 18, 2018, 09:11:16 AM »
The Lords useful, I must have missed that!.

Raven

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #3 on: Jun 18, 2018, 01:22:57 PM »
I can never make up my mind about this.  ???   ::)

zoony

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #4 on: Jun 18, 2018, 03:16:17 PM »
I can. It's a Westminster private members club that pays members for their trouble when attending. It's not representative of the UK generally cos the vast majority of those members are from London, the South East and East of the UK. Shut it down and replace it with some kind of a Counsel of Elders meeting somewhere more central.
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Undercover Pensioner

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #5 on: Jun 18, 2018, 04:22:37 PM »
I think we can see what a "Counsel of Elders" would be like zoony.   You only have to watch Sir Christopher Chope!  No thank you.

Isn't interesting that the Tories, who have rarely said anything about the HoL are now deciding that it should go.  Who is to say that however we create a revising chamber (which is what it is) they would not still annoy you when they don't let you have your own way.

It would help if May was not attempting a power grab.  That is a political party and it's leader grabbing power from our government.  Why would you want that.  That is what the Lord's is trying to reverse.
The vote for Brexit was a vote to take back what we hadn't lost in order to lose what we actually have.

Michael Rolls

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #6 on: Jun 18, 2018, 04:26:01 PM »
It has had its uses in identifying poorly thought out legislation (is there any other sort, I wonder?) but its current blatant attempt to kill off Brexit is a disgrace,
Mike
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GrumpyOldFart

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #7 on: Jun 18, 2018, 04:38:07 PM »


I think we all know that the House of Lords has past its sell by date. The question is what do you replace it with, surely not another elected chamber?


At the moment there are 780 of them, perhaps it should just be abolished (if that is even possible).

Michael Rolls

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #8 on: Jun 18, 2018, 04:45:58 PM »
I would like to see (baying at the moon, I know!) a second chamber of - don't really know how to express this - of people appointed for their expertise in their field, and to cover a LOT of fields. Health, education, science, medicine (not the same as health!), finance, civil engineering, child care - and so on. The problem is - who would do the appointing? Somehow it would have to be by an independent process, and no matter they say, politicians don't do independent. A panel of High Court judges - despite what folk say that such people are divorced from 'reality' might work. Oh, and individuals to be time limited - five years? Certainly no longer
Mike
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fortyone

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #9 on: Jun 18, 2018, 05:01:04 PM »
Frank Fields also says it's time to bring the Lords to an end..
https://www.westmonster.com/field-time-for-british-renaissance-abolish-the-lords/

The main source seems to be a Telegraph article that requires a subscription to get to the meat.

Michael Rolls

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #10 on: Jun 18, 2018, 05:03:50 PM »
I have a lot of respect for Frank Field - how on earth Labour can follow the drum of Corbyn when they have the likes of FF in their ranks is beyond me.
Mike
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Phil

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #11 on: Jun 18, 2018, 05:11:10 PM »
I have a lot of respect for Frank Field - how on earth Labour can follow the drum of Corbyn when they have the likes of FF in their ranks is beyond me.
Mike

As it is to so many potential Labour voters who don't vote Labour.

I can't think of another politician for whom I've had so much respect.
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sparky

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Re: The Lords
« Reply #12 on: Jun 18, 2018, 05:19:09 PM »
We could certainly do no worse, and probably much better if we got shot of the whole bunch of existing  scroungers, and had a second chamber made up of ordinary people selected in much the same way as a jury,  to serve for a limited period, I would have much more faith in people like  that who live in the real world, than the useless braindead we are  lumbered with at the present.