This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34084194
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| House of Lords 'should be smaller than Commons' | House of Lords 'should be smaller than Commons' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two members of the House of Lords have joined calls for the upper house to be made smaller and more efficient. | Two members of the House of Lords have joined calls for the upper house to be made smaller and more efficient. |
| Conservative peer Lord Norton and crossbench peer Baroness Deech said it should be reduced to about 500 members, smaller than the House of Commons. | |
| David Cameron has faced criticism for appointing 45 new members, including 26 former Tory ministers and aides - taking the Lords total to 826. | David Cameron has faced criticism for appointing 45 new members, including 26 former Tory ministers and aides - taking the Lords total to 826. |
| The PM has said there is "no point" reviving efforts to reform the House. | The PM has said there is "no point" reviving efforts to reform the House. |
| Here is a full list of the new peers and those receiving other honours | Here is a full list of the new peers and those receiving other honours |
| The two peers told BBC Radio 4's Today programme they would like to see the House of Lords have fewer members than the House of Commons, which has 650 MPs. | The two peers told BBC Radio 4's Today programme they would like to see the House of Lords have fewer members than the House of Commons, which has 650 MPs. |
| Baroness Deech said it was becoming increasingly difficult to get work done because of "too many people trying to be heard". | Baroness Deech said it was becoming increasingly difficult to get work done because of "too many people trying to be heard". |
| "The place is simply overcrowded to an extent that you can't do your job properly," she said. | "The place is simply overcrowded to an extent that you can't do your job properly," she said. |
| "You have to queue for two hours to be able to get an oral question tabled." | "You have to queue for two hours to be able to get an oral question tabled." |
| 'Donors and bag-carriers' | 'Donors and bag-carriers' |
| Lord Norton said the Lords was looking at a number of options to reduce its size, such as having a retirement age limit, but also needed to consider how members are appointed. | Lord Norton said the Lords was looking at a number of options to reduce its size, such as having a retirement age limit, but also needed to consider how members are appointed. |
| Both peers called for a statutory appointments commission to be set up to approve nominations. | Both peers called for a statutory appointments commission to be set up to approve nominations. |
| Baroness Deech said this would ensure "no more donors and bag carriers" are appointed as it "doesn't look good". | Baroness Deech said this would ensure "no more donors and bag carriers" are appointed as it "doesn't look good". |
| She added that recent scandals - such as the resignation of Lord Sewell following allegations of drug taking - were "putting a nail in the coffin of our respectability, if not our durability". | She added that recent scandals - such as the resignation of Lord Sewell following allegations of drug taking - were "putting a nail in the coffin of our respectability, if not our durability". |
| The SNP has branded the 45 new peers as "a sorry list of rejected politicians, cronies and hangers-on with big chequebooks". | |
| The list has also not met with much approval in Friday's newspapers. | |
| The Independent said the list of new peerages "shame Britain" while the Daily Mirror and the Telegraph both criticise the selection of Tory MP Douglas Hogg, who was found to have claimed parliamentary expenses for getting the moat at his manor house cleaned. | |
| The Daily Express berates the failure to appoint a single new UKIP peer, despite the 4m votes cast in the general election for the party. | |
| Read our full newspaper review | |
| Who is in the House of Lords? | Who is in the House of Lords? |
| Labour peer Dawn Primarolo told the BBC that people should be elected to the House of Lords, not chosen by political parties. | |
| "What people want is transparency, accountability and a clear explanation of who does what, what the second chamber is for and how we can make sure that it reflects the views of the people who make up the various communities across the United Kingdom," she said. | |
| "There's a feeling at the moment that it doesn't reflect fairly all those points." | |
| Liberal Democrat Sir Menzies Campbell, who has previously fought for Lords reform, said he was taking up his Lords seat so he could argue his case from within the House. |