Member

We could have started by giving real power to the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which should look not simply at people’s propriety, but at their suitability. We heard criticism of some newly appointed Members of the House of Lords who are very young. I think the Appointments Commission could consider the attributes of any aspiring candidate, and ensure that the new membership of the House of Lords was taken from the most distinguished parts of the nation. It may be a fair point for another reform that perhaps we should not have people appointed for life. We have heard of somebody who is 39 or younger. Perhaps we should say that if someone is appointed to the House of Lords, they should serve for only 15 years or retire in that Parliament.