News / Politics
New Bristol peer calls for elected Lords
Former Bristol South MP Dawn Primarolo has used her new peerage to call for a fully elected House of Lords.
The former deputy speaker of the House of Commons was one of eight Labour politicians to be handed a peerage yesterday.
Former Kingswood MP Robert Haywood was also given a seat in the upper chamber, which has now swollen to 826 members.
Critics have raised questions over many of the recent appointments, including Conservative Douglas Hogg, who was shamed for claiming expenses for his moat, and Michelle Mone, a lingerie tycoon who founded Ultimo.
Calls have since been made to shrink the size of the house.
But Primarolo went one step further in an interview with the BBC. “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.”
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