James Clappison
Main Page: James Clappison (Conservative - Hertsmere)Department Debates - View all James Clappison's debates with the Cabinet Office
(13 years, 5 months ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
I always thought that the Labour party was against bastions of privilege and patronage. I thought that one of the founding principles of the so-called progressive party was that it believed that the British people should be in charge, not politicians in Westminster. Labour Members seem to be turning their backs, yet again, on one of their many long-standing traditions.
Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere) (Con)
Does the Deputy Prime Minister think that the proposed new House of Lords will cost more or less than the existing one?
The Deputy Prime Minister
We want to reduce the number of people in the reformed House of Lords very dramatically—the draft Bill and White Paper that we published last week suggests 300 Members. Exactly what the cost will be depends, of course, on the proportions of elected and non-elected Members, so it is quite difficult to come up with precise estimates at this stage.