I Can Fix The House Of Lords

Britain’s House of Lords is a second chamber made of compromise. We as a nation understand the value of a second chamber: it is essential for governmental checks and balances, for debate, and so that the government of the country cannot be swayed by current moods in electoral politics blinding us to widespread issues or solution. We as a nation, though, have no constitution, and have been gradually building upon and compromising with our system of government since about 850 AD. Our second chamber, The House of Lords, suffers particularly from mixed purpose and fighting for control.

What is the purpose of the House?

If The House of Commons is the voice of the common person, the House of Lords is supposed to take a longer, more informed view. Their role is to represent the interests of different people and to debate with the Commons until each bill contains nuance and acts effectively. The greatest strength and the greatest criticism of The House of Lords is that its members (can) sit for life, unelected. You can earn your seat through birth, appointment, or career (if your career is in the Church of England) and get a vote – a watered-down half a vote, if you consider membership in the Commons to also be a half-vote – in the running of our country.

The idea of this chamber being beyond electoral politics is valuable: it allows its members to focus on research, be guided by knowledge, and develop ideas that may be initially unpopular among the wider populace but will, in the long run, improve life for the majority of people. Equally, the idea of an unelected house is heinous, and it is with deep sympathy that I look upon the people who aim to make the Lords elected so that they cannot impose the views of an elite upon ordinary people. In attempting to fix the unfairness of the House, we have, however, removed our checks and balances: by giving them the power only to delay, valid questions the Lords may raise that go unanswered can be ignored within eight years, and bills presented by the volatile Commons can pass into law.

So… that fix…

We can find our fix in the same place we find the problem: the ancient systems of our country. Britain, especially London, keeps livery companies. Yes, those same medieval guilds that kept trades like shoemakers and tavern-keepers in check and advocated for their rights are still in action, and have to some extent been modernised. Did you know there’s a Worshipful Company of Information Technologists? Some of these guilds are messy and unable to decide on their own purpose (Royal Society of Literature, I’m looking squarely at you when I say that…), but they do, in fact, exist. Whilst they themselves need modernising, I would propose that these organisations become the basis for a semi-elected chamber:

• We choose 150-300 professions, charities, and unions which represent national interests. The Student Union, the customs officers, the Livery Companies, the BBC….
• Each organisation elects 1-2 of their own members whose role will be looking after their interests and the interests of the nation from their perspective within the House. For each bill, they would have a unique professional outlook they would represent, giving nuance and balance to the debates.
• The role of these new elected officials will be the same as the Lords: to collaborate across party lines (in fact, we may even stipulate they remain unaffiliated with political parties); to research; to debate. They will each be considered experts, but experts of the people, and it is up to the organisations to choose who will be elected and how. Some may choose their member with the greatest length of service, some may choose something like the Oxford Professor of Poetry election… some may even find themselves with a career politician arm of the profession, but the members must ultimately choose who represents them.
• There will be a review process based on the census every decade in which the Commons debate whether the current representatives do indeed reflect current national interests: the College of Arms, for example, may not make the cut, despite being an official body in many ways equal to the guilds. The guilds should include things like social worker, low-paid worker, or service workers, in order that the House properly represented Britain, and their voice would be considered expert alongside university professors, but they would not be weighted higher based on numbers.
• Any single issue should find both sides with a member, for example Renters may find themselves represented by the charity Shelter and Landlords by a Guild of Estate Agents and Landlords.
• There would be a pathway for as yet unimagined guilds to form: telephone operators, for example, may choose to seek representation due to the large number of call centres in the UK.
• Crucially, we will look to the Super PAC system in the US to see how this sort of system can be exploited before we enacted it.

Alongside a fully elected chamber, this ‘House of Experts’ should provide appropriate guidance for our legal and political system. I believe in democracy, but I also believe in expertise and proper debate, and it is my belief that with a ‘House of Experts’ Britain would find itself with a House prepared to do the hard work of civic duty whilst also creating a fair and balanced system.

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On This Topic:

• This piece is heavily inspired by this video, which I found fascinating and informative.
• Just in case you don’t know how powerful money can be in an election.
• I think guilds are fascinating. Also land ownership in London, and various other strange old things that are tied together.

To-Do:

• Clean watch
• Cycle 45 mins per day over half term to get fit enough for commuting
• Pack a journalling kit, with washi tape etc, that travels

Today’s Culture:

Throwing birthday parties for dead ladies is something I do so frequently nowadays I am close to calling it a hobby. Happy birthday, Marie Skłodowska Curie (soon)

Chanel Inimitable is my most recent lipstick purchase (OOFT have they gone up in price!) and it’s a gorgeous, adult orange. I always love Chanel for wearable versions of bold or trendy shades.

When is Paula Ringer’s Swiftie: Une Métamorphose going to be available a) outside of France, and b) in (ideally English but I’ll take German) translation?