Member

For those seeking to support the amendment, I ask, “Where have you been?” One of my predecessors as MP for Telford, my right hon. Friend the noble Lord Grocott has continued to campaign on this issue for decades and has been vindicated at long last. He proposed exactly the measure outlined in the amendment—ending the by-elections to phase out hereditary peers—in four private Members’ Bills over the last 26 years. Each and every Bill was blocked by Conservative peers and Conservative Governments, so I do not believe that this amendment has been tabled in good faith. Instead, the Opposition are clutching at straws to prevent progress because they fear change.