LONDON LETTER
Among the multiple collateral effects of the pandemic in the United Kingdom, in addition to the increase in dog theft, the race to buy family homes in the countryside or the renewed passion of the British for ornithology, there is an inflation of expense reports from hereditary peers in the House of Lords.
To believe the Sunday Times of March 28, these ex officio members of the Upper House of Parliament – because holders (all males) of a noble title – demanded nearly 500,000 pounds sterling (586,000 euros) in repayments between April 2020 and October 2020 from of the UK taxpayer. The opportunity for the weekly to question the relevance of their privileges, an archaic survival of a class society.
The overwhelming House of Lords (nearly 800 members) is essentially made up of life Lords appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister or the Lords’ Appointments Commission (an independent body): most are former ministers and personalities considered notable for their contribution to the country.
The Chamber also has twenty-six archbishops and bishops of the Church of England (a survival of the medieval Great Council, where the clergy and the nobles sat advising the king) and another 85 “hereditary peers”, only before their statute. in their noble title: on the death of their father, only the eldest sons can inherit this seat in Parliament, or the first male descendant closest to the deceased.
Zeal and pounds sterling
According to Sunday Times, these hereditary peers have therefore been zealous since the start of the health crisis: over the last twelve months, they participated in 79% of the votes, against 47% a year earlier. A positive effect of the implementation of remote polls by the Westminster administration on rather elderly and less mobile people? Probably.
As a result, these dukes, counts, viscounts, barons or marquises were able to claim compensation: the Lords do not receive a salary but compensation (not taxable) of 323 pounds sterling per day on condition of participating in parliamentary work. Since the start of the pandemic, this package has certainly been halved, but it remains comfortable.
The most diligent (or greedy) hereditary peer is Dominic Bryce Hubbard. At just 57, sixth Baron Addington has claimed £ 21,538 since April 2020. This Liberal Democrat entered the House in the 1980s, at just 22, when his father died. Christopher John Suenson-Taylor, third Baron Grantchester, claimed £ 17,054 over one year, despite an estimated personal fortune of £ 1.2 billion. Member of the Labor Party – not all hereditary peers are conservatives, even if the latter are in the majority – went through a private college (Winchester College), like most of his colleagues, and is at the head of a very large dairy business.
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