Bringing the Lords down to size? Lords debates reducing the size of the House
The first Speaker of the House of Lords will be amongst peers debating the case for reducing the size of the House of Lords on Thursday 12 December.
Other Members due to speak in the debate include Members who served on the Joint Committee which scrutinised the Draft Lords Reform Bill in 2012.
The debate will be opened by Lord Norton of Louth, former Member of the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill Joint Committee, who tabled it.
“I intend this debate to call attention to the fact that, in terms of members, the House of Lords has grown, is growing, and ought to be reduced.
“There are problems in terms of how the House is seen by the public in terms of it sheer size, and there are problems for the effectiveness of the House in terms of the number of peers making demands on its resources.
“The House of Lords does a highly effective job, especially in legislative scrutiny, and it is important that its effectiveness is not impaired by the House becoming unwieldy in size.”
Other Members scheduled to speak include:
- Baroness Hayman, former Lord Speaker;
- Lord Hunt of King's Heath, Shadow Deputy Leader of the House and Member of the Leader's Group on Members Leaving the House; and
- Lord Tyler, former Member of the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill Joint Committee.
Lord Cormack, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Lord True, Lord Maclennan of Rogart, the Bishop of Leicester, Lord Dykes and the Earl of Caithness are also expected to take part.
Lord Hill of Oareford, leader of the House of Lords, will respond on behalf of the Government.
