IF ever there were an argument for reform of the House of Lords, yesterday's list of newly appointed working peers is it.
While many of the individuals on it will no doubt be an asset to the House of Lords, it carries the strong taint of cronyism.
Ex-parliamentarians and party staffers abound, not to mention, on the list of Conservative peers, David Cameron's "close friend" (the Prime Minister's own description), Times journalist Daniel Finkelstein. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of the list is the inclusion of major donors for all three main parties: for the Tories Howard Leigh and also Sir Anthony Bamford, whose family has given around £2.5m to the Conservatives since 2002; Sir William Haughey for Labour; and James Palumbo and Rumi Verjee for the Liberal Democrats. The elevation of two outsiders - the redoubtable Doreen Lawrence and former Paralympic swimmer Chris Holmes - while most welcome, does not change the self-serving nature of some of the three parties' other choices.
Meanwhile, the chamber is becoming absurdly supersized, with the new appointments bringing the number of working peers to 785; the Electoral Reform Society warns it could have approaching 1000 members by 2015, a laughable prospect for an institution the three main parties all claim to agree should be reformed.
Last year, the Conservatives, with support from some Labour politicians, blocked the Liberal Democrats in their bid to reform the Lords at last and make it elected. Thanks to that debacle, it is now anyone's guess when that much-needed reform will take place. Until it does, the bestowing of peerages by parties will continue to be seen as rewards for services rendered.
In the meantime, it is at least reassuring to know that people of talent are among those being bestowed with this honour. Two well-kent faces from Holyrood are to migrate south, Annabel Goldie, former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, and Jeremy Purvis, the former Liberal Democrat MSP. (Alongside businessman and philanthropist Sir William Haughey, the list includes one other Scot, Alison Suttie, Nick Clegg's former deputy chief of staff.)
Ms Goldie is respected on all sides of the chamber in Holyrood for her conviction and refreshing directness and will no doubt make a highly effective peer. Whether her constituents will appreciate her taking up her role while still serving as an MSP remains to be seen.
Ms Goldie is a political grandee, which could hardly be said of Jeremy Purvis, who becomes a peer at the tender age of 39, but he too will bring vigour to the role. Mr Purvis worked hard in the Scottish Parliament and not only in the service of his party. He put his head above the electoral parapet by championing a controversial (and ultimately unsuccessful) member's bill on physician-assisted dying.
What matters is that those occupying the red benches take seriously their role in the revising chamber and on its well-respected committees. The likes of Annabel Goldie and Jeremy Purvis can be relied upon to do that. It is just a pity that they and the other 28 peers soon to be joining the Lords have not been elected to do so.
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