Friday, April 05, 2024
A lucrative route to the House of Lords?
The Mirror highlights a report by Transparency International UK that almost a quarter of people nominated for a seat in the House of Lords over the last 10 years have donated to a political party, new figures reveal today. They say that 68 out of 284 peerage nominations from political parties made between 2013 and 2023 were political donors:
Together the individuals had boosted parties' coffers by a staggering £58million - with 91% of the donations (£53.4million) going to the Tories. Twelve of the "super donors" - representing 92% of all donations - had also provided donations of over £1million, the research reveals.
Transparency International UK says it has become "increasingly clear that the second chamber is being brought into disrepute, in large part due to political patronage, and there is a growing consensus that retaining the status quo is untenable".
The report calls for honours lists for resigning Prime Ministers to be scrapped and an end to their "unfettered power to make appointments" to the Lords. It also demands beefed up powers for the Lords' vetting body to veto nominations "they deem unsuitable or improper".
Chief Executive of Transparency UK Daniel Bruce said: "It should be deeply concerning that all too often those donating large sums of money to our political leaders are then handed jobs for life, making our laws in Parliament. This is inconsistent with the spirit of laws intended to protect the integrity of the upper house."
He added: “With the absence of meaningful checks on political appointments, combined with the limitless ability of the Prime Minister to appoint supporters and allies to the House of Lords, it is now increasingly clear that this patronage is bringing the second chamber into disrepute."
The research comes after Rishi Sunak handed out knighthoods to right-wing Tory MPs in a surprise honours list snuck out before the Easter weekend. There was also a knighthood for mega-donor Mohamed Mansour, a Tory party treasurer, who gave the Conservatives £5million last year.
Of course, this is not just the Tories, it relates to other political parties as well. Surely the time for reform is long past, not to mention abolishing the House of Lords altogether and replacing it with an elected second chamber.
Together the individuals had boosted parties' coffers by a staggering £58million - with 91% of the donations (£53.4million) going to the Tories. Twelve of the "super donors" - representing 92% of all donations - had also provided donations of over £1million, the research reveals.
Transparency International UK says it has become "increasingly clear that the second chamber is being brought into disrepute, in large part due to political patronage, and there is a growing consensus that retaining the status quo is untenable".
The report calls for honours lists for resigning Prime Ministers to be scrapped and an end to their "unfettered power to make appointments" to the Lords. It also demands beefed up powers for the Lords' vetting body to veto nominations "they deem unsuitable or improper".
Chief Executive of Transparency UK Daniel Bruce said: "It should be deeply concerning that all too often those donating large sums of money to our political leaders are then handed jobs for life, making our laws in Parliament. This is inconsistent with the spirit of laws intended to protect the integrity of the upper house."
He added: “With the absence of meaningful checks on political appointments, combined with the limitless ability of the Prime Minister to appoint supporters and allies to the House of Lords, it is now increasingly clear that this patronage is bringing the second chamber into disrepute."
The research comes after Rishi Sunak handed out knighthoods to right-wing Tory MPs in a surprise honours list snuck out before the Easter weekend. There was also a knighthood for mega-donor Mohamed Mansour, a Tory party treasurer, who gave the Conservatives £5million last year.
Of course, this is not just the Tories, it relates to other political parties as well. Surely the time for reform is long past, not to mention abolishing the House of Lords altogether and replacing it with an elected second chamber.
