THE SNP have called for a full House of Commons debate on the new controversial tranche of peers and their “suitability” to sit in the House of Lords.
The latest appointments to the Upper Chamber of 45 peers, mostly Conservative, have left David Cameron facing accusations of cronyism. It also took the number of barons and baronesses to 826; the Commons has 650 MPs.
Among those in line to be ennobled are William Hague, the former Foreign Secretary, Kate Fall, the Prime Minister’s erstwhile “gatekeeper” in No 10, Douglas Hogg, the former Agriculture Minister who, in the expenses scandal, infamously billed the taxpayer for the £2200 cost of having the moat at his country mansion cleared, and Michelle Mone, the Scottish lingerie tycoon, who has been appointed Mr Cameron’s business start-up czar.
Former MPs from other parties who were on the list include Alistair Darling, the ex-Chancellor, who led the Better Together campaign, and Sir Menzies Campbell, former Liberal Democrat leader.
Kirsty Blackman, the SNP spokeswoman on the House of Lords, said: “The absurd list of party donors, failed former MPs and apparatchiks has quite rightly been condemned across the political spectrum and has been met with real anger and frustration from ordinary people across the UK.
“The SNP would rather the costly number of cronies in the Lords stopped growing but the Prime Minister is determined to press ahead with further inflating the undemocratic second chamber. In that case, he must allow elected members of parliament to debate the appointments.”
The Nationalists, who do not have any representation in the House of Lords, consider its bloated size an affront to democracy and believing the fact that peers are appointed for life and cannot be voted out to be unacceptable.
“The Lords should be scrapped,” declared Ms Blackman, who represents Aberdeen North, “and a debate had on what could take its place in the form of a democratic second chamber.”
She added: “In the meantime, there must now be accountability about its current membership. Before the current crop of new peers is allowed to take their place, elected members of Parliament should be given the opportunity to debate their appointment and assess their suitability.”
Meanwhile, Ms Mone has been lined up along with Sex and The City star Kim Cattrall to guest edit BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour during a special women's 'takeover week' later this month.
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