House of Lords Reform

The hon. Gentleman makes a sedentary quip; he is known for his sense of humour. We have got to be sure that we in the House of Commons really are the primary source of legislation and accountability of the Government. It is obvious to me that, at present, we are not. We have the Whips telling us what to do. Ten years ago, they were saying, ““Vote against every privatisation measure””—and I did. The problem is that I have been doing so ever since 1997. I am now told to vote for privatising this, privatising that. Even the noble Lady Thatcher would baulk at some of the things that I have been asked to vote for. A concession may have been made about the timing and the type of elections. I am totally against the list system that is used for European elections. It is used by the central party machine. Anyone in the European Parliament who is slightly to the left of Genghis Khan was put near the bottom of the list. Labour MEPs who had served many years in the European Parliament lost their seat not because they were voted out, but because they were put at the bottom of the list. That is a scandal. The idea of having a list system gives me even more reason to oppose any change at this stage. I want to see a powerful unicameral legislature that can hold the Government to account and combat the patronage of the leaders of the Executive—any Executive, not just the present Government. That should be one of our missions when we go into the Division Lobby tomorrow night.