THE Scottish Greens have lodged new proposals to ban members of the House of Lords from serving in the Scottish Parliament.
Peers have been barred from voting in General Elections and are not allowed to stand for election to the House of Commons.
Under a proposals from Ross Greer (below), lodged as an amendment to the Elections Bill, new rules would also see peers disqualified from taking office as MSPs.
Greer said: “The House of Lords is an antidemocratic and archaic institution. It should be a source of embarrassment to the UK that more than half of Westminster’s lawmakers are completely unelected and unaccountable, including some who quite clearly paid for their peerages with dodgy donations to one party or another.
“The only way you should get to decide on the laws of this country is via a fair election. Every MSP is democratically elected, but there is a clear conflict between this and sitting in the unelected Lords.”
Labour MSP Katy Clark previously took a “leave of absence” from the Lords in 2021 after being elected to Holyrood in 2021.
Other peers to be elected to Holyrood include Lord Foulkes, who was an MSP for the Lothians from 2007 to 2011 and Lord Watson, the MSP for Glasgow Cathcart from 1999 to 2005.
Greer continued: “If a peer wants to serve in Holyrood, they should resign their membership of the Lords first.
“A handful of peers have been elected as MSPs since the Scottish Parliament was re-established. Most have done a fantastic job advocating for their constituents and representing their communities.
“This amendment is not about individuals, it is about democracy and accountability. I hope that MSPs across all parties will put those principles first by supporting my amendment.”
