Political correspondent
EPAReform UK chief Nigel Farage has referred to as on the prime minister to permit him to nominate friends to the Home of Lords.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Farage mentioned he needed “the democratic disparity” within the higher chamber to be addressed, suggesting it was unfair that events with fewer MPs have been represented.
Reform has 4 MPs within the Home of Commons and controls 10 councils in England, however presently has no friends.
Political appointments to the Lords are made on the discretion of the prime minister.
The prime minister is beneath no constitutional obligation to raise members of opposition events, however will usually ask opposition leaders to appoint people for peerage.
A Downing Road spokesperson mentioned: “The method for appointments to the Home of Lords follows established conventions and is guided by recommendation from the Home of Lords Appointments Fee and different related our bodies.
“Whereas political events might make representations concerning peerage nominations, selections are made in step with long-standing procedures.”
Sources conversant in the appointment course of instructed the BBC that, whereas historically the primary opposition celebration is obtainable the prospect to appoint some friends, there are not any set guidelines and the choice was in the end as much as the prime minister of the day.
The Home of Lords Appointments Fee doesn’t advise on which events ought to nominate friends however vets these whose names are put ahead.
Requested about Farage’s letter, Defence Secretary John Healey instructed LBC “the identical Nigel Farage that referred to as for the abolition of the Home of Lords” now needed to fill it with “his cronies”.
The Home of Lords is part of Parliament. It scrutinises the work of presidency and is unbiased from the Home of Commons, the place MPs sit.
Members of the Lords are referred to as friends. Like MPs, they scrutinise the work of presidency and advocate modifications to proposed laws. There are presently greater than 800.
As soon as within the Home of Lords, friends can change their political affiliation.
For instance, Lord Pearson of Rannoch sat as a Conservative peer from 1990 to 2004, however switched to the UK Independence Get together.
In his letter, Farage mentioned: “My celebration acquired over 4.1 million votes on the basic election in July 2024. Now we have since received a lot of seats in native authorities, led the nationwide opinion polls for a lot of months and received the one by-election of this Parliament.”
Farage added that he was in favour of reforming the Lords, however that “the time has come to handle the democratic disparity that exists within the higher home”.
He famous that the Inexperienced Get together, Plaid Cymru and Ulster Unionist Get together (UUP) have 13 friends between them.
He additionally identified that the Liberal Democrats have 76 friends, regardless of successful fewer votes than Reform on the earlier election. The Lib Dems presently maintain 72 seats within the Commons, making them the third largest celebration after Labour and the Conservatives.
“None of this holds water any longer given the seismic shifts which have taken place in British politics,” Farage mentioned.
Farage mentioned his request to nominate friends was “modest”, however didn’t define who he would nominate if given the chance to take action.
Liberal Democrat chief Sir Davey mentioned: “The very fact he is specializing in how he can get his mates into the Home of Lords says all it’s worthwhile to learn about Nigel Farage.”
In Might, Reform made sweeping features in native elections, in addition to successful the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by simply six votes.
That success led Farage to say that Reform UK was now the main opposition party.
In December, Sir Keir appointed 30 new Labour peers, together with his former chief of employees Sue Grey. The Conservatives appointed six new friends, whereas the Liberal Democrats appointed two.
Final 12 months, MPs backed plans to get rid of hereditary peers from the Home of Lords.
