North is 'under-represented' in Lords

Sep 2 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

THE North East is under-represented to the point of neglect in the House of Lords, it was claimed yesterday.

The influential New Local Government Network think-tank attacked the "built-in bias" towards London and the South East in the Lords, with the North East having the lowest proportion of peers in the country.

A study by the think-tank has found just 11 peers live in the North East, including the Bishop of Durham, compared to 123 in London and 100 in the South East.

Two peers are based in Tyneside and two in Durham, while six live in Northumberland – less than half the number the region should have given its size of population.

The North East should have 17 seats in a fully-elected 400-strong second chamber of Parliament and 14 if there was an 80% elected element, according to the New Local Government Network in research that follows ministers’ proposals to overhaul the Lords.

The study also found North East peers turn up more often than their London colleagues.

The report said: "The laws we live under are still determined in an unrepresentative and unfair way. There remains a glaring built-in bias in the composition of the House of Lords, with some parts of the United Kingdom under-represented to the point of neglect.

"If legislation is to be seen as legitimate in every locality, then it stands to reason that everyone should have access to roughly the same number of legislators."

The think-tank is suggesting a reformed Lords could adopt a regional-list system of elected peers to ensure fair regional representation with seats allocated according to population. Other options include nominations from locally or regional elected bodies.

It is also urging political parties to embrace regional primaries to pick who would be on the list of people standing for election to the Lords to increase local participation in politics.

Report authors James Hulme and Nick Hope said there was a significant North-South divide in representation, adding: "London has more peers than the East Midlands, West Midlands, Wales, Northern Ireland, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber put together."

Labour peer Brian Mackenzie of Framwellgate, a former Durham chief superintendent, said the region was under-represented but stressed the situation was under review: "There could be peers elected on a regional basis, so it is all in the melting pot."

Where members of the House of Lords live

Breakdown of regional location of Peers and attendance record