Member

While I welcome the intention of my noble friends to ensure that your Lordships’ House retains a certain level of senior judicial experience, I caution against the occasional tendency of lawyers to believe in the exceptionalism of their profession. It is certainly very helpful to have noble and learned Lords, who bring the wisdom of their experience in interpreting and applying statute to our deliberations on new legislation, but it is just as helpful to have the practical experience of senior figures from other walks of life, who can explain how the policy intent of legislation might work out in practice or some of the pitfalls which ought to be avoided.