Go on then Tories; reform the House of Lords.

Not  so long ago Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset) argued that Peers in the House of Lords ought to be able to drink the highest quality champagne on offer as they should enjoy some privilege of peerage, ,

He  said claims that peers turned down merged catering services with the Commons because they were worried the champagne would not be as good were now "legendary if not mythical".
Mr Rees-Mogg also urged MPs to be cautious about reforming the unelected House of Lords, saying it must remain an independent second chamber, rather than becoming a subsidiary one.

In a debate on Commons governance, he said:

"I quite understand why their lordships are very nervous about this place trying to grab power from it.
"If I were in that place rather than in this place I would take the same view that the House of Commons by virtue of ultimately controlling the purse strings, by having the democratic mandate, is always in a position to peer over at what their lordships are doing.
"And, though as I understand it the champagne story turned out to be somewhat legendary if not mythical, and anyway I think their lordships ought to drink the highest quality of champagne.
"If, after all, you are a Lord, you must have some privilege of peerage.
"Although that may have been legendary if not mythical, actually the need to maintain their independence because they do not want to be a subsidiary chamber, they are a second chamber, the second chamber, but not a subsidiary chamber.

Now  of course  affter The House of Lords inflicted a series  embarrassing defeat on Theresa May’s government on Wednesday, challenging her refusal to remain in a customs union with the EU after Brexit he is are naturally appalled. and claims that believe, is in urgent need of reform to make it more democratic. 

He said:

 "It raises the issues of reform again. It leaves them with very few supporters.
"It is not a loved institution, it is a tolerated institution when it obeys the constitutional norms.
"If it ignores them it has very little support left. They are completely obsessed by the European Union.
"They are people who have devoted their whole life to it. Their whole aim is to stop Brexit."

 And this  hypocrisy is echoed by the Daily Mail
 


Mogg and the Mail are right, but the difference between Me and the me and is I have always believed in replacing the Second Chamber, not when it situted my agenda.


I also agree with former Labour leader Lord Kinnock  when he says said.

Jeremy Corbyn will commit "a serious evasion of duty" if he does not change his stance on Brexit,

The peer told the Independent that Labour should endorse the UK staying in the European Economic Area (EEA) or risk "sacrificing thousands" of jobs.
Staying in the EEA would mean the UK retained key aspects of the single market after leaving the EU.
But Mr Corbyn has opposed this idea as the UK would not make the rules.
A Labour spokesman said the party would not be commenting on Lord Kinnock's remarks.
Lord Kinnock was one of the 83 Labour peers who defied the party leadership this week and voted for an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill in the House of Lords to keep the UK in the EEA.

But i remember  "Lord"  Kinnock  who committed ahis own "serious evasion of duty" when he failed to support the 1984 miners strike.

As the then Es Plaid Cymru MP and now AM  Adam Price in his S4C series on the dispute. argued there was confusion in the mining community over Lord Kinnock’s stance during the strike.
He said:

Neil Kinnock was a miner’s son and from a mining community and many of us in the movement thought that the leader of the Labour Party would take the opportunity to support the strike, come to the picket line and the rallies. We didn’t understand why he didn’t.

“Neil Kinnock had chosen his path and once you had chosen to be the leader of the British Labour Party… you had to sacrifice the miners on the altar of winning the next election.”

I do not believe that  Politicians when they retire from a Legislature should go quietly into the twilight , but they should not be given a platform (and neither anyone else) in a undemocratic legislature , even when they do the right thing.