THE House of Lords has been described as an "affront to democracy" by the SNP.
Thirty new peers were appointed to the Lords this week, and the Nationalists have pointed out that Scottish voters only elect 4% of the UK Parliament following the expansion. There are 59 Scottish MPs in the House of Commons with a total of 650 MPs and 785 Lords.
Three Scots were given seats in the chamber this week after nominations by party leaders, with former Tory leader Annabel Goldie joining Glasgow businessman Sir William Haughey, who has given Labour more than £1 million since 2003, and former Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis.
The SNP does not nominate members to the House of Lords and the party's position is that parliamentarians should be elected.
Angus MacNeil, MP for Na H-Eileanan An Iar, said: "We now have the ludicrous situation that there are far more legislators who are appointed than elected - and people in Scotland elect only 4% of the parliamentarians who hold powers over the economy, welfare, defence, our place in Europe, and many other crucial areas of policy.
"The UK parties nominating their own donors to the House of Lords is part and parcel of Westminster's crony culture - and the Lords is now the second biggest chamber in the world after the Chinese National People's Congress."
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