THE SNP have called for the unelected, undemocratic House of Lords to be scrapped, after Lord Sewel quit over newspaper claims he snorted cocaine with prostitutes.
The call also comes as Prime Minister David Cameron prepares to press ahead with the appointment of about 200 new peers.
Shadow Leader of the Commons Pete Wishart said the House of Lords was held in contempt by Scots, who saw it as nothing more than “a repository for the cronies and donors of the UK parties”.
“With its lords, ladies, baronets and earls it can only be described as the most absurd and ridiculous legislature anywhere in the world,” he said.
“Even though it currently dwarves the elected chamber, David Cameron seems hell-bent on increasing this bizarre, bloated institution even further, stuffing it even more full of Tory placemen and donors.”
Lord John Buttifant Sewel’s antics made worldwide headlines yesterday, from Canada’s Globe and Mail, toTimes of India and Australia’s Canberra Times.
His resignation letter signalled a change of heart after he declined to resign or apologise on Monday, saying instead he would take a leave of absence from the Lords.
The 69-year-old’s political career was in tatters after the Sun on Sunday published video footage of him snorting powder from a woman’s breasts, and lounging in a leather jacket and orange bra while he verbally abused political figures such as Alex Salmond, David Cameron and Boris Johnson.
In his resignation letter to the Clerk of the Parliaments, the most senior official in the Lords, Sewel wrote: “I want to apologise for the pain and embarrassment I have caused.”
He added that he hoped his decision would “limit and help repair” the damage he had caused.
In a statement, he said: “I have today written to the Clerk of the Parliaments terminating my membership of the House of Lords.
“The question of whether my behaviour breached the Code of Conduct is important, but essentially technical.
“The bigger questions are whether my behaviour is compatible with membership of the House of Lords and whether my continued membership would damage and undermine public confidence in the House of Lords.
“I believe the answer to both these questions means that I can best serve the House by leaving it.
“As a subordinate, second chamber the House of Lords is an effective, vital but undervalued part of our political system.
“I hope my decision will limit and help repair the damage I have done to an institution I hold dear.”
Baroness Stowell, the Tory leader of the Lords, welcomed Sewel’s decision, but said it was “disappointing” he had not made it earlier.
“For the House of Lords to earn the confidence of the public, all of us must respect the privileges that come with a peerage and recognise that – because we are unelected – it is especially important to meet the standards the public have a right to expect, and to act swiftly when we fail,” she said.
She added that while the code of conduct governing the behaviour of peers would be “constantly kept under review”, it was important that the Lords now had “powerful sanctions to deploy” against wrongdoers, including the threat of expulsion.
THE irony of Sewel’s position is he was a Deputy Speaker and chaired the Lords’ Committee for Privileges and Conduct. He was partly responsible for drawing up the code of conduct for the upper house.
However, David Cameron has appeared to rule out wider reforms to the Lords. He said he had tried and failed in the last Parliament, and did not intend “to go down that route again”.
And Lord Hill, a former leader of the Lords, insisted it was doing its job of revising legislation and holding the Government to account, despite the fact a few had “tarred its reputation”. However, Wishart said there could be “no reason for increasing the unelected Lords to some 1,000 members”.
He added: “Instead, what we should be looking at is the abolition of the whole chamber and the creation of a fit-for-purpose, 21st-century, democratic House free of 17th century forelock tugging and deference.
“The current House of Lords is beyond reform and it must now be cleared out and reconstituted on firm democratic principles.
“An unelected chamber has no place in a modern society and House of Lords reform has been promised by generations of UK political leaders. The public are growing angrier by the day by the antics of those who inhabit this gold-plated, red-upholstered Narnia.”
Sewel’s resignation will have no effect on the investigation launched on Monday, when officers searched his Westminster flat in Dolphin Square. The Metropolitan Police said it was investigating “allegations of drug-related offences involving a member of the House of Lords”. The thrice-married academic, who has a £1.2m house near Aberdeen, quit his role as deputy speaker and committee chairman in the wake of the revelations.
He was a junior Scottish Office minister in Tony Blair’s government and helped steer through legislation that paved the way for the Scottish Parliament. In 1999, he stood unsuccessfully for Holyrood’s inaugural election.
Although he will no longer be able to attend the House of Lords, Sewel will retain his title.
The National view: Time to serve notice on the privilege and patronage of the Lords
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