Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Love Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Lindsay Roy. He is not here, so I call Mr Andrew Love.

[Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

3. What representations he has received on his plans for the future composition of the House of Lords.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The loudest voices inevitably belong to those who object the most to our proposals to make the House of Lords a more democratic Chamber but, as the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr Love) said last week, a democratic Chamber was endorsed in the manifestos of all three of the largest parties in the House.

[Mr Love]

Accountability is the essence of democracy. If the newly elected Members serve only one term for 15 years, how can that be called democratic?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As was discussed in the debate last week, the principle that one of the ways in which we distinguish between a reformed House of Lords and this Chamber is to introduce long non-renewable terms for the elected component in the other place was not invented by this Government. It was identified in a series of cross-party commissions over many years, but if the Joint Committee that is to be established thinks otherwise, that is exactly the kind of thing that we should debate in the months ahead.