Hereditary peers should leave with 'honour'- says Earl of Devon
Hereditary peers should leave with their "heads held high" if they are abolished, a member of the House of Lords has said.
Hereditary peers should leave with their "heads held high" if they are abolished, the Earl of Devon- a hereditary peer in the House of Lords- has said.
He said he disagreed with the Government's proposal to remove peers who have inherited their positions in Parliament but said if it passed, then the reform should be accepted "with honour".
The 19th Earl of Devon, Charles Courtenay, was elected to the upper chamber in 2018, qualifying through his bloodline.
His father had also served in the Lords, but had his seat abolished in 1999 under reforms brought in by Tony Blair's Labour government.
The Earl of Devon said: "I accept that if it is our time, and if our time is up, and if we are to leave this House... we should do with our heads held high and we should not be horse trading or otherwise frustrating the Government's legislative programme."
He added that if peers who were abolished in the reforms wanted to return to the Lords, they could apply to through the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac).
He continued: "The privilege of our hereditary positions should not be sullied in a party political way, or in a petty political way.
"My lords, I believe we should accept our abolition, or our execution, with honour."
The House of Lords is debating potential amendments to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which passed its second reading in December.
The Bill, which has already been through the Commons, will abolish the 92 seats reserved for members of the upper chamber who are there by right of birth.
There are currently 88 hereditary peers after the suspension of by-elections pending the legislation.
The Bill delivers on a promise in Labour's election manifesto and has been promoted as the first step in a process of reform.
There have been concerns about the size of the House and calls to reduce its membership, which stands at around 800, compared with MPs, who are capped at 650 members.
Former Conservative Party leader Lord Howard of Lympne said the proposal was a betrayal of an agreement in 1999 which led to the abolition of all but 92 hereditary peers.
In total 667 hereditary peers ceased to be parliamentarians under the law before the turn of the millennium.
Lord Howard, who served as home secretary during John Major's government in the 1990s, referred to the deal which was struck that would keep a rump of hereditary peers in place until an agreement was struck on further Lords reform.
The Tory peer recalled a statement from then lord chancellor Lord Irvine of Lairg about the reforms more than two decades ago, saying: "'Binding in honour', those were the words he used.
"Now honour, my lords, is not, to our collective regret, a characteristic much associated these days with politicians, or even with legislators who do not regard themselves as politicians.
"So it behoves those of us who do regret this lamentable state of affairs to do what we can to remedy it, and that means honouring commitments such as those given by Lord Irvine.
"This Bill dishonours those solemn assurances."
Labour leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon said: "Those agreements were never expected to still be here a quarter of a century later."
Lady Smith added: "I just remind noble lords, this was a manifesto commitment, but I also say... there is nothing at all that is a barrier to those who appear as hereditary peers to having life peerages."