MPs nominated by political parties are vetted by the Appointments Commission – an independent public body – before being accepted. The committee also made recommendations for non-political candidates.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer (left) commissioned former prime minister Gordon Brown (right) to review plans for reform of the UK constitution. Credit:power amplifier
In addition to life peers, there are 92 hereditary peers, although their status in the House of Representatives is no longer a birthright under the House of Lords Act 1999. There are also 26 bishops and archbishops of the Church of England, who are called lords.
Brown’s proposal for an elected house involves the creation of a “new, democratically legitimate second chamber” that will be called the “parliament of state and territories”. Its job is to uphold the British Constitution and it has only 200 members.
Labor leads the Conservatives by more than 20 percentage points in opinion polls, but Starmer’s support has declined overall since August, with several members of the party calling on him to do more to craft his plan.
The proposals are aimed at appealing to former Labor voters who switched to the Conservatives amid England’s so-called “red wall” at the 2019 general election and helped weaken support for Scottish and Welsh independence.
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The House of Lords is largely made up of aristocrats from London, the south-east and the east of England, giving the impression that many parts of the UK are woefully underrepresented.
The Scottish nationalist movement has gained momentum in recent years as a result of the decision to leave the European Union. The ruling Conservative Party has had five prime ministers in the past six years, and the chaos has further fueled Scottish nationalism.
Labor does not need a referendum to reform the House of Lords and is able to introduce changes through legislation; however, it can seek the support of voters to protect the changes from being overturned by a future government.
The report, commissioned two years ago, included proposals to clean up Westminster, including new powers to limit outside income for MPs, legislation to eliminate foreign funding from British politics and a new anti-corruption commissioner named ” Eradicating crime from the political sphere” life.
A jury of ordinary citizens will review the arrangements governing the morals of MPs to ensure they are functioning effectively.
A decade ago, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government led by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron attempted to reform the House of Lords but was dropped after resistance within his own party.
Brown was prime minister under Tony Blair until his defeat in 2010. Thousands of civil service jobs could move from London to Scotland and Brown said the report would list 12 institutions that could move north.
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