Baroness Hunter of Auchenreoch (Lab)

My Lords, I too thank my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton for introducing this debate, and her and her committee for this impressive report, a model of clarity and brevity. As I have often said, it is an honour and privilege to listen to the depth of expertise in your Lordships’ House, sometimes from some of the most venerable Peers, as we are witnessing today. None the less, I support the committee’s proposals: a retirement age at 80, all Members being treated equally irrespective of expertise or position, and with generous transitional arrangements. This is a genuinely modest proposal which will bring the profile of this Chamber more in line with legislatures worldwide and the adult population generally. Quite simply, at an appropriate moment, at a time which is well into retirement in most walks of life, we should make way for the rising generations. They are entitled to bring their valuable expertise and current experience to the challenges of the time in which we live. Our younger noble Lords, on all sides of the House, have demonstrated many times that age does not confer superiority. I am inspired in moderation by my noble friend Lord Kinnock, the first Labour leader whom I had the honour of working for, and who was an inspiration for me as a moderniser. He was once an advocate of total abolition of your Lordships’ House. Indeed, he once called noble Lords “unelected busybodies” and “descendants of brigands, muggers, bribers and gangsters”. Now in his maturer years, my noble friend, while still advocating for wider constitutional reform, proposes nothing more radical than retirement at 80 for today’s noble brigands. I know that there are many exceptionally active octogenarians and nonagenarians in your Lordships’ House, many of whom I have long admired and are speaking in this debate, and whom I hope will not consider me presumptuous, being relatively new. However, we should be honest. Our faculties fade; first the body, and then mental capacity. I know that only too well. At the age of 71—the average age, I think I heard earlier—this will be my last contribution to debate here for a couple of months, because I am shortly to have a knee replacement operation. I will miss all noble Lords, but I hasten to add that I look forward to resuming fully, and I am still all there up top. Regarding the other matter to note, that of participation, measurement is a difficult task: valuable unseen work versus seen work; quality versus quantity; popping in or popping up. I bow to the committee’s considered judgment of attendance of 20% of sitting days. I agree more emphasis needs to be made prior to appointment on the nature of our work, with a higher contribution bar made clear from the outset. I wholeheartedly support these proposals and look forward to the response from my noble friend the Leader, in the hope that your Lordships can reach consensus in a resolution of the House on this matter.