The House of Lords needs more independent and expert members to keep a reasonable balance of peers, amid a row over plans by former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss to hand peerages to dozens of Conservative leaning allies and donors.
Renewing concerns over the appointments process in Parliament’s upper chamber, The Lord Speaker has told The Guardian that an “eagle eye” needs to be kept on the composition of the House, which he said was in danger of falling “out of sync” with its balance of legislators.
Lord McFall, whose role as Lord Speaker is neutral, stressed he was making no direct criticism about the choice of recent peerage awards, according to the paper. But he said too many politicians with insufficient expertise in the Lords could undermine its role in taking a wider view of legislation.
