A FORMER lord speaker has issued a further warning to Boris Johnson, amid concerns that the outgoing Prime Minister could move to swell the ranks of peers before he leaves office.
On Saturday, both Tory leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were urged by the current Lord Speaker not to take the same approach as Johnson when it came to appointing members of the House of Lords.
Lord McFall of Alcluith, in a letter to the two candidates, warns that any attempt to swell the ranks of peers “undermines public confidence in our parliamentary system”.
The letter, as seen by the Sunday Times, comes amid reports Johnson wants to add further members to the House of Lords as part of a political honours list before he departs Downing Street.
READ MORE: Top Scots Tory donor Robert Kilgour has 'significant concern' over Liz Truss as PM
Those reports, which are referenced by Lord McFall in his letter to the two candidates, has already prompted concerns among opposition parties.
Baroness Hayman joined the warnings to the Prime Minister on Sunday, telling the BBC’s The World This Weekend programme: “The proposal is part of a trend to trash constitutional norms. So, in that sense, I think it’s a very bad idea.
“It has all sorts of grave consequences. And I’ve actually been surprised at how much anger there is across the House, basically, to put a large number of predominantly Tory peers into the House now.
“The House of Lords has provided difficulties for the Government. No Government likes that. Most prime ministers understand that it’s actually good for democracy for that to happen.
“I’m not sure Boris Johnson understands that having a challenging House of Lords actually improves Government policy and improves legislation.”
Lord McFall, who in the letter praises the “exercise of restraint” shown by former prime minister Theresa May in her approach to Lords appointments, is critical of Johnson for not following suit.
READ MORE: Tory leadership race 'poses Thatcher threat to Scotland'
He continues: “The current Prime Minister has taken a different approach to his predecessor, choosing not to exercise that same restraint, and making a significant number of appointments during his tenure – 86 in total, so far, which is far more than the committee recommended.
“As a result, despite the high number of retirements, there has been little progress in reducing the size of the House, which currently has over 800 members.”
Asking the pair to address the size of the Lords when one of them takes office, he tells them: “I am sure you agree that public trust in politics and in our Parliament and constitution is crucial going forward.”
Lord Norton of Louth, one of the foremost experts on parliament and the British constitution, told the same programme that the creation of new peers should be about “quality, not quantity”.
He has a Private Member’s Bill that would grant statutory powers to the House of Lords Appointments Commission, preventing future prime ministers from appointing new peers before the commission advises on their suitability.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel