Doon frae Troon
Ryder Cup Winner
http://www.exaronews.com/articles/5558/lord-janner-voted-203-times-in-parliament-despite-dementia
Another good case for abolishing it.
Another good case for abolishing it.
The House of Lords
- Thread starter Doon frae Troon
- Start date
They can't have it all ways to suit themselves, he either has sever dementia thus he can't vote, draw expenses and have an active role in the lords, or he's fit enough to vote and attend and thus be charged and prosecuted for the 22 counts of abuse he is being accused of!
Personally, unless someone is literally on their death bed with limited time to live, anyone accused of such heinous crimes should be held accountable, Saunders is a joke to attempt to body swerve this, hopefully public opinion on it will become strong enough in the media to force her hand.
Personally, unless someone is literally on their death bed with limited time to live, anyone accused of such heinous crimes should be held accountable, Saunders is a joke to attempt to body swerve this, hopefully public opinion on it will become strong enough in the media to force her hand.
Foxholer
Blackballed
Why is that a 'good case for abolishing the House of Lords'? He stopped voting in November 2013 and has been on 'Leave of Absence' since October 2014.
Seems to me that it was sensible planning after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2009!
I make no comment on the charges against him, save my revolt at child abuse - and the ease with which it can/could be committed in supposedly 'safe' environments!
freddielong
Tour Winner
The problem is not the house of Lords but the house of commons, for the two house system to work it needs to be populated and voiced by different groups of people.
Doon frae Troon
Ryder Cup Winner
Do they not already have the two groups......Lords and Commoners ?
If you mean an elected second chamber, well, I am all for that.
MegaSteve
Tour Winner
Using this logic should we not be looking at banning all Aussie's from these shores as 'we' currently have one locked up... Who remains steadfastly in denial with regard his wrongdoings....
freddielong
Tour Winner
It was more that the people we elect no longer represent the commoner if we have two fully elected house we end up with the same sort of people in both houses
By its nature the HoL have never represented the commoner. It is after all, a house of Lords. The sooner it gets abolished the better.
CheltenhamHacker
Journeyman Pro
Why, so we can have another house of self serving politicians, who seek to look at the very short term future, rather than operating with the long term good of the country in mind?
An unelected house is absolutely brilliant, it largely removes the partisan nature of politics, and adds a layer of checks to the house of commons that wouldn't exist if there were two houses of the same nature.
MegaSteve
Tour Winner
There are more than a few decent sorts sitting on the benches of the HoL...
Just that they are not necessarily newsworthy...
Just that they are not necessarily newsworthy...
Errmmm, except that large chunks of the Lords are made of politically appointed members. They get made Lords and Dames by the political parties. No different to the Commons in many ways except no matter how inept we can't vote them out. They can stay there forever.
CheltenhamHacker
Journeyman Pro
That's how they get in, yes, but that doesn't mean they are partisan. It's widely known that politics in the Lords is much less about parties than the Common.
So if you want 2 fully elected chambers, how would you cope with the short term/pandering to the minor issue of the day that you get with the Commons? The Lords is a good buffer for that currently, why would you change that?
Also, how do you measure the "ineptitude" of the current Lords?
freddielong
Tour Winner
Sorry that was the point the Hol isn't supposed to represent the commoner that is the job of the hoc. The whole point of a two house system is that the two different houses have two different views so that no law or rule that is too one way or the other gets through.
If you have two purely elected houses you end up with two houses with one view point so you may as well have one house.
How do you ever measure ineptitude? It is a judgement call. At least if I vote for someone I can make that judgement. If I am not able to vote and remove them then there is no check to them.
How do you balance the chamber to make it less political, accepting that even now there is a political element? Always a toughie that one. Perhaps you offer 10 year terms to encourage non political people to stand? That would give more job security but there is a balance at some point if you are not happy with their performance. Look to recruit a wider breadth of person rather than rely on political parties to recruit?
Other countries seem to manage it, let's see what they do, take the best parts and work it into our system.
How do you balance the chamber to make it less political, accepting that even now there is a political element? Always a toughie that one. Perhaps you offer 10 year terms to encourage non political people to stand? That would give more job security but there is a balance at some point if you are not happy with their performance. Look to recruit a wider breadth of person rather than rely on political parties to recruit?
Other countries seem to manage it, let's see what they do, take the best parts and work it into our system.
