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House of Lords: Reform

My Lords, it is always a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, and it has been a pleasure to be with him on the Joint Committee looking at this matter. Noble Lords will have got the flavour of his approach on this. The Conservative Party has a radical House of Lords reform policy in its manifesto, but the noble Lord must adopt the posture of Blackadder in the series on the First World War; he must talk a good fight without actually wanting to go over the top. The reason is that if at the Dispatch Box he actually expounded Conservative Party policy as in its manifesto, he would feel a terrible tingling between his shoulder blades. I have some sympathy because I am not entirely tingle-free myself. I welcome this White Paper and pay tribute to how Jack Straw has gone about a difficult task with great integrity and constructiveness. I know that that does not help Jack on those Benches across there, but it is true. I also pay tribute to the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor; it is often forgotten that this process was started on his watch, when he called the parties together to discuss it, and Jack Straw took it over. For my party, the White Paper is a step towards redeeming a 100 year-old commitment, and we look forward to the process. Some clarification is needed. I understand that the Commons will look at it on 27 February and during the week beginning 5 March. It is widely accepted that we should be aware of the Commons’ decision before we have our debates, but it would be interesting to know where that puts us on the calendar. I note the tribute paid to the Joint Committee on Conventions, on which I, too, sat. It provides a template for the relations between the two Houses in future. I draw the attention of the House to two points about the Joint Committee on Conventions: it drew great attention to the importance of manifesto commitments and to the supremacy of the House of Commons. As Mr Straw said in his Statement, the three main parties were very close together in their commitments to Lords reform at the election. My party leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, today reaffirmed our commitment to radical reform of this place. I wonder whether the two other party leaders have reconfirmed theirs; it might help some of their followers in the decisions they have to make. If one follows the Joint Committee on Conventions and looks at manifesto commitments and at decisions in the other place, it is inconceivable that this House should be given a veto on Lords reform. It is often said that the post-1998 House of Lords has done a good job, and I agree. Research by University College London confirms that it has, but there is no doubt that the House is tainted by patronage and that the status quo is not an option. Mr Straw is right to say that what will come forth in the end will be a compromise and that the White Paper gives us an opportunity to move forward. I shall not go into the details of the White Paper because I hope that all Members will use it as their Recess reading. I shall echo a great Liberal statesman from the 20th century in saying that this White Paper is not the end of the debate on Lords reform; it is not even the beginning of the end, but it could be the end of the beginning. As Mr Straw recognises, a wrecking process would be relatively easy. I only have to look round the House to see some pretty adept wreckers. That kind of unholy alliance would be totally against what is required and against public opinion. My recommendation to the House is to take this White Paper home, together with the reports of the Wakeham commission and the Joint Committee on Conventions, and come back in a constructive frame of mind. We may go further on this than we imagine.