The Times view on the proposed abolition of the Lords: Greater Britain
A Labour party report is right to highlight political reform as the key to levelling up and improving productivity. But scrapping the upper house is the wrong place to start
It is hard to find many peers who would defend the House of Lords in its current state. So perhaps it is not surprising that Sir Keir Starmer says he wants to abolish it. The bloated second chamber is now the second largest legislative body in the world after China’s National People’s Congress with more than 800 members. Its legitimacy has long been called into question due to the continued presence of 92 hereditary peers and the ever-swelling ranks of political appointees of dubious distinction who have been handed lifetime seats in parliament as rewards for party donations or personal service to the prime minister. Its reputation is likely to sink further with the expected imminent announcement of Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list. Some of