Will Starmer do anything about the House of Lords?

(Prompted by a conversation with friend Mike at the Duchy Nursery Cafe in Lostwithiel)

Regular readers of my blog (and there are some doughty followers, whom I thank profusely) will know that I am a devoted republican and can see no role for royalty or the House of Lords in an elective democracy in the 21st Century. I've often banged on about abolishing the House of Lords and I'm hoping that it is something that will surface during the forthcoming General Election campaign.

Although Starmer has said in the past that he wants to abolish life peerages and the remaining hereditary peers and replace them with a fully elected upper chamber, that is not, in fact, what Labour is proposing. Rather, what we are getting is yet another promise to ‘reform the Lords’. All that Labour is promising is a plan to hold a ‘consultation’ on what a reformed new chamber might look like, and a promise to ‘reform’ the current appointments process. The latest thinking from the Labour camp appears to be along the lines of some, as yet unspecified, “interim reforms” along the way to abolition. Perhaps I can help him with a couple of suggestions?.

If Starmer does get in, I hope that he lifts spirits with an immediately dynamic start, signalling that "this time, it's different". In 1997, Gordon Brown started off with a bang by giving independence to the Bank of England. For Starmer, the equivalent could be/should be the long-awaited reform of the House of Lords. Reduce it to, say, 600 peers (from 782 at present), of which 500 would be appointed by proportional representation based on the General Election popular vote, and selected from party lists (if Labour wins 40 per cent of the vote, it gets 40 per cent of 500, so 200 peers; the Tories 34 per cent, so 170 peers; the Greens 7 per cent, so 35 peers, etc). Any necessary 'balance' peers should be crossbenchers selected by the Appointments Commission, with an eye to special groupings, such as regional ones. The Lords Spiritual should go, as should the Hereditaries. Future peers would only be appointed within the above structure.

That's it: a simple, clear, dynamic start to our Labour future – and straightforward to implement. What's not to like.Over to you, Keir. It's a vote winner.