House of Lords Bill [HL]

My Lords, Westminster is known the world over as the Mother of Parliaments, and the mother of the Mother of Parliaments is the House of Lords. Parents nurture their children, who grow up and eventually break free. In 1911, the other place broke free and the primacy of the House of Commons was well and truly established. I applaud the noble Lord, Lord Steel, for his Bill. There is much to commend within it. As many noble Lords have said, a statutory House of Lords Appointments Commission is a must. There are existing models that we can learn from in terms of structure, composition and procedure of the Appointments Commission, such as the recently constituted Judicial Appointments Commission chaired by my noble friend Lady Prashar. Sadly, the Bill will stand no chance of being enacted unless the fundamental merits of an appointed House of Lords are understood not only by the other place but by the country at large. My noble friend Lady Boothroyd spoke powerfully in our debates about reform back in March. She said that reform of this House was never once raised during the 12 elections that she contested in her long and distinguished career as a Member of the other place. She gave three reasons for that. First, the proper battleground for our political parties is the House of Commons, not the revising Chamber. Secondly, the supremacy of the Commons was settled in 1911 and should not be put at risk. Thirdly, the House of Lords is good at the job that it does, and the country knows it. I agree with everything that my noble friend said—except that our country does not know it. It does not know the crucial function of this House, nor the way in which we serve our country. The public perception is that only elections equal democracy. The reality is that this unelected House is the cornerstone of our democracy. That has not been understood at all. There is also the danger of change for change's sake. The White Paper produced prior to the debates that took place in both Houses earlier this year was, in my humble opinion, not fully thought through. To me, logic dictates that to bring an elected element into this House will take us back 100 years, prior to 1911, and the supremacy of the House of Commons will definitely be challenged. The strength and foundation of this House lie in the independence, objectivity and integrity of its Members, who bring world-leading expertise to this Parliament, as we have heard. The whole world admires Britain for its rich heritage and traditions. During the past 25 years, we have also shown ourselves to be an open and vibrant nation. With hindsight, there was a need for reform of this House eight years ago. Since that reform, drastic though it was, the effectiveness of this House has been better than at any time in living memory. It is credible and is a listened-to voice. In the entrepreneurial business world in which I live, even when things are going absolutely swimmingly, we believe in restless, non-stop innovation and non-stop change. Where this House is concerned, the belief is exactly the opposite: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I am proud to be a Member of this House. This House is precious. This House brings out the best in Britain; this House is also the best for Britain. The House of Lords is the guardian of our nation, the guardian of the values and principles that we stand for, the guardian of our very foundations in this country. As I have said before, let us not shake those foundations. We always need to remember the rules of home improvement: we can change the layout of the House, we can add or remove walls, but when we meddle with the foundations we risk bringing the whole House down.