Keir Starmer urged not to abandon pledge to abolish House of Lords

Exclusive: Gordon Brown warns plans to flood upper chamber with dozens of Tory peers proves urgent need for reform

Keir Starmer has been urged not to abandon a key leadership pledge of abolishing the House of Lords, with Gordon Brown warning that plans to “gerrymander” parliament’s upper chamber by flooding it with dozens of Tory peers proved the need for drastic reform.

Alarm was raised by the former Labour prime minister over a proposal drawn up by a political lobbying group for Boris Johnson to appoint up to 50 new Conservatives to ram contentious legislation through given a series of embarrassing defeats by peers.

Brown said the leaked document he had seen from CT Group – run by Lynton Crosby, a key adviser to Johnson – “legitimises straightforward bribery” by recommending those who vote loyally be rewarded with special envoy positions, honours and lunches at Chequers.

Nicknamed “Operation Homer”, the plan also said new peers would have to give a written undertaking to support the government in key votes on controversial legislation, likely to include the Northern Ireland protocol bill that would unilaterally override the Brexit deal.

Under the cover of levelling up the Lords by picking peers from under-represented parts of the UK, the paper admitted it was the “perfect excuse” to ensure a swathe of loyalist law-makers are ennobled.

Writing in the Guardian, Brown said the proposal “makes no bones about the defenestrated prime minister’s aim to pack the House of Lords” that would see him “ride roughshod over every convention and standard of propriety in an effort to secure political nominees who will vote for the Tory government”.

He added that the paper’s claim the media could be easily blindsided by the appointment of a few controversial figures or celebrities to avoid criticism of the sheer number of “cronies” appointed would amount to “gerrymandering”.

“The solution is to reform the Lords, not reinforce its unrepresentativeness,” Brown said, calling for Starmer to pick up the mantle of trying to abolish the un-elected upper chamber in parliament.

Although Starmer made it one of his 10 pledges during the 2020 leadership campaign, it is one of several he is accused of backtracking on. Asked about his commitment to “abolish the House of Lords” and “replace it with an elected chamber of regions and nations” last November, Starmer did not repeat it but committed to “change” instead.

Brown said the current appointments system “calls into question the unfettered patronage of the prime minister who alone can recommend appointments to the Queen”.

Both he and Tony Blair declined a resignation honours list, which Brown said had “undermined the reputation of a number of past prime ministers”.

“Johnson’s latest attempt to manipulate the Lords’ system is the culmination of years of constitutional vandalism,” Brown claimed, pointing out the “shameless” appointment of Conservative party donors and eight former party treasurers.

Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST

Although defeated in 2008 when he tried to press ahead with Lords reform, Brown said it was “time to flush out who really wants change and who does not”.

“The abolition of the current House of Lords was one of the 10 commitments Keir Starmer made when assuming the Labour party leadership,” he wrote. “Now Boris Johnson and Lynton Crosby have handed him the strongest possible case for long overdue reform.”

Starmer has faced similar pressure from, Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader who has said the Lords in its current form “has no place in 21st-century politics”.

A Labour spokesperson said: “The Lynton Crosby plan to pack the House of Lords shows that fundamental reform is needed. Keir Starmer has asked Gordon Brown to lead a review of the UK’s constitution. It will report later this year and set out the options for change.”

A CT Group spokesperson said: “The document you refer to was simply an early working copy of a discussion paper prepared for a thinktank. It was not circulated outside a small group of individuals and was not prepared for any audience beyond that small group of people, to aid discussion.

“Even in spite of this being simply a working draft of a discussion paper, it seems incongruous that you would be against making the House of Lords more representative of the UK people with under-representation of the north and Wales, as you state, or that those who accept peerages do so in the full knowledge and acceptance that they will commit fully and actively to their democratic role, and have no conflicts which would prevent them from doing so.”

A government spokesperson said: “Given retirements and other departures, some new members are essential to keep the expertise and outlook of the Lords fresh.

“This will ensure the Lords continues to fulfil its role in scrutinising and revising legislation, whilst respecting the primacy of the Commons and the associated conventions between the two houses.

“It has also been the case under successive governments from across the political spectrum that prime ministers can draw up a ‘Dissolution’ or ‘Resignation’ List.”

Contributor

Aubrey Allegretti

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Keir Starmer: I will abolish House of Lords to ‘restore trust in politics’
Exclusive: Labour leader plans a new elected chamber after accusing successive Tory governments of handing peerages to ‘lackeys and donors’

Michael Savage Policy editor

19, Nov, 2022 @7:30 PM

Article image
The ‘indefensibles’: donors, cronies and lackeys embody case to abolish Lords
After Boris Johnson took political patronage to new levels by his appointments, Labour sees public mood is ripe for radical reform

Rowena Mason Whitehall editor

29, Dec, 2022 @5:00 PM

Article image
Nervy Keir Starmer offers alternative to tiers of a clown | John Crace
The Labour leader’s message to Boris Johnson was the closest thing to leadership the country has seen in months

John Crace

13, Oct, 2020 @7:18 PM

Article image
Gavin Williamson should be sacked over exam failures, says Keir Starmer
Exclusive: two years of chaotic policies and ‘yawning’ attainment gap make position untenable, says Labour leader

Rowena Mason and Aubrey Allegretti

11, Aug, 2021 @5:57 PM

Article image
Boris Johnson trying to ‘take down’ standards watchdog, Keir Starmer says
Prime minister is leading the Tories ‘through the sewers and the stench lingers,’ Labour leader says

Rowena Mason, Aubrey Allegretti and Peter Walker

08, Nov, 2021 @8:10 PM

Article image
Labour may abolish House of Lords if it wins next election, leaked report reveals
Exclusive: Constitutional review by Gordon Brown also recommends devolving economic powers

Jessica Elgot Chief political correspondent

22, Sep, 2022 @6:30 PM

Article image
Keir Starmer vows to clean up British politics after Tory sleaze rows
Labour leader plans to link reports of corruption and cronyism to effect on ordinary people as elections near

Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor

03, May, 2021 @9:30 PM

Article image
‘He comes over as weak’: Keir Starmer fails to convince Wakefield voters
The Labour leader has not capitalised on Boris Johnson’s sinking ratings ahead of a crunch byelection

Helen Pidd North of England editor

19, Jun, 2022 @4:04 PM

Article image
With Keir Starmer on holiday, Labour treads water on cost of living
Analysis: Gordon Brown, Martin Lewis and Ed Davey are the voices being heard, as the opposition is left with the same policy as Sunak

Jessica Elgot Chief political correspondent

10, Aug, 2022 @6:10 PM

Article image
Charles’s Queen’s speech surpassed in dullness by Starmer-Johnson show
Beergate-afflicted Labour leader stuck in second gear while bored PM raced to a garbled finish

John Crace

10, May, 2022 @6:26 PM