Member

Noble Lords might ask why this quixotic campaign is relevant, given that hereditary Peers are soon to be removed from your Lordships’ House. It is relevant because, despite our departure from these red Benches, the hereditary peerage will continue to exist and will remain totemic, if politically less significant, within our society and culture. The Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain will continue to lead us in national ceremony; dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, lords, baronets and knights will remain prominent figures within their communities; ancient estates will continue to steward much of our most significant natural capital; glossy magazines will maintain their febrile fascination with titled families; and within many rural parishes, the local squire will remain a significant employer and landowner. Just imagine if, within a generation or two, half of those people were women. It would be a seismic shift, ensuring once and for all that gender equality pervades all levels of our society. This is a change worth fighting for and one that the Government should support.