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House of Lords Bill [HL]

My Lords, I freely admit that my attendance in the House is not as great as I should like it to be. However, I put it to your Lordships that, when I was sounded out—I think that is probably the best way of putting it—about whether I might accept the great honour of being invited into this House, my concerns were that I had a considerable outside career, I was 48 and there was nothing very much that I could do at the moment. It was suggested to me that my presence here from time to time would be valuable because I would be able to bring something from an outside career. I realise that the House’s character has changed considerably since 1997, when I first came here. Of course, I can see that a very large number of working Peers are here now and that the majority of new Peers have been created as exactly that. However, I hope that noble Lords will understand the view of someone who believes greatly in the extraordinary institutions that this country has, by some osmosis, found and created. Perhaps I may add one thing. It is very important that, when considering the Bill, the House reflects on whether there is room within it for people who may not be able to attend as much as they would like but, when they do attend, they do so with some kind of passion because they hope to offer something in the particular field about which they care deeply through working in it. Therefore, I hope that this does not simply become a House of elected semi-professional and professional politicians, because that is not what it should only be about.