PM Sir Keir Starmer is under fire for creating even more unelected peers. It means he’s now overseen 96 new members of the House of Lords since entering Number 10
Sir Keir Starmer is under fire for stuffing the “bloated” House of Lords with even more unelected peers.
The Prime Minister announced a new list of 25 Labour peerages in the chamber – handing jobs for life to his cronies and former advisers. It means Sir Keir has now overseen the creation of 96 peers since becoming PM – more than the 92 hereditary peers he is removing from the Lords.
Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, criticised the move and said: “Keir Starmer himself not long ago described the wholly unelected and grossly bloated House of Lords as ‘indefensible’.
“Nothing has changed since then so it is deeply disappointing to see even more peers being stuffed into the upper chamber. Firstly, it is absurd for the Lords, which at more than 800 peers is already the second largest legislative chamber after China’s National People’s Congress, to be getting even more members.
“It is also patently ridiculous that the government has now added more peers into the Lords than the 92 hereditary peers it is in the process of removing.”
Labour ministers are now fighting to defend Sir Keir’s Lords U-turn.
Campaigners and outraged voters back up Mr Hughes’ objections, saying it is “ridiculous” and “outrageous” the Lords is continuing to grow in size when it is the second-largest legislative chamber in the world – only behind China’s National People’s Congress.
Sir Keir previously pledged to “abolish” the upper chamber and branded it “indefensible”. His vow to abolish the Lords and strip politicians of the power to hand appointments to Parliament’s upper chamber came in 2022.
But he backtracked on the plans and Labour’s manifesto ahead of the 2024 general election was watered down when it came to the issue. It only promised to “consult” on proposals for replacing the Lords.
A Labour source has suggested Sir Keir will defy the outrage over his Lords move by continuing to make appointments to the chamber to stop opposition peers from blocking the Government’s legislation. The source said: “The Tories stuffed the House of Lords, creating a serious imbalance that has allowed them to frustrate our plans to make working families better off.
“This needs to be corrected to deliver on our mandate from the British people. We will continue to progress our programme of reform, which includes removing the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords.”
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