Explain two strengths of the House of Lords.
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erinruth99gmailcom (student)
Explain two strengths of the House of Lords. [10]
The House of Lords has a number of important strengths. First, there is a much lower level of party discipline in the House, leading to better quality debates. Members of the Lords do not have to seek re-election and are therefore not constrained by the same populist considerations as MPs. The House of Lords is able to devote a lot of time to committee work, and its less partisan nature facilitates highly deliberative and detailed scrutiny of government activities. There are whips in the Lords but they work more on persuasion and informing Lords rather than having any political threat. The Conservative whip for the Lords is Lord Taylor of Holbeach. Furthermore, life peers cannot be sacked by their parties even if they disagree with their views. In October 2015, Lord Adonis (he was a Blairite, left probably because of Corbyn) left the labour party and became a crossbencher. He was given a job in government with George Osbourne. Any peer can do this – they are there for life. The most independent of Lords are the Crossbench Peers, of which there are currently 175. Crossbench Peers are non-party political and by tradition sit on the benches that cross the chamber of the House of Lords. They do not adopt partisan policies, but rather speak and vote as individuals. An example of a crossbench peer is Lord Trees, who brings knowledge about veterinary issues.
