A story in the Byline Times.
The Idea to Overhaul the House of Lords that Politicians Aren’t Talking About
YouGov polling suggests strong potential support across the board for a very different chamber to replace the House of Lords
Josiah Mortimer
28 June 2023There is significant public support for overhauling the House of Lords in a way that is almost never discussed in political debate, according to a newly published poll.
YouGov, commissioned by the Sortition Foundation – a social enterprise which campaigns for greater use of citizens’ assemblies – has shed some new light on public opinion regarding Lords reform.
Typically, the debate is about moving to an elected second chamber – for instance, using a proportional voting system to more fairly reflect how the public vote than under the Commons’ winner-takes-all ‘First Past the Post’ system. Others suggest an ‘indirectly’ elected house, whereby council leaders or regional mayors would fill a new Senate of the Nations and Regions.
The latter idea stems largely out of fears of a directly-elected second chamber simply replicating the House of Commons, or ‘worse’ in their eyes, having more legitimacy and therefore power over MPs.
But the Sortition poll adds another option for the first time: replacing the Lords with a permanent citizens’ assembly made up of ordinary people, reflective of the UK population.
Out of the options presented for the future of the Lords, this was the most popular with 23% of public support. The idea came top among all major party supporters (bar Liberal Democrats, who marginally prefer an elected second chamber).
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Filed under: House of Lords, Opinion polling, Press, Proposals, Sortition | 1 Comment »