The other place

By the term "the other place", I mean The House of Lords.

DAG published a very good post on Tuesday about the plans to reform and/or replace the HoL.

Which is needed as the legislation, temporary legislation, which created what we have now is 111 years old.

Not THAT temporary.

Prior to 2016, I would have joined in the called to reform or replace the HoL, but six years of political battles have shown that the Upper Chamber has important finctions to carry out, and is vital for democracy. Whatever might take its place, we would have to be certain the new structure would carry those out in the same politically unbiased way the HoL does today.

And not just morror the politics of the Commons.

Scrutiny is important, vital, so that rushed legislation from the Commons can be shown to be thus and sent back for reconsideration.

That the Lords with hereditary peers and 26 Bishops of the Church of England might not be the best example of an Upper House, but it does its job. And Bishops advising their political colleagues on the moral and ethical issues with policies can't be a bad thing, can it?

Johnson has tried to upset the balance in the Lords by flooding it with political appointees. Despite 44 days on office, Truss is also going to apoint even more peers.

What does this do for our democracy?

Reform of the Lords is not easy, 111 years since the last reform has shown us that. Its not something we or any party should rush into, and as one party can create something liberal and fair, the next party could do the opposite.