10 signatures reached
To: Prime Minister Teresa May
Reform the Lords & Reduce Number of MPs
Turn the Lords as fast as possible into an elected Upper House and abandon the farce of outgoing PMs to hand favours to their staff, friends and supporters, not all of whom are deserving. Reduce the number of Lords and MPs to a level commensurate with the size of the UK population and economy. For example, our Upper House has now over 800 members whilst the upper chamber in Germany (Bundesrat) has 69 members and the Senate in the USA has 100. Our Commons number (MPs) at 650 is far too high as well. Compare Germany (Bundestag) 630 and the US Congress 435.
Why is this important?
Many Lords do not make use of their privilege, yet reportedly claim in full their allowances. An inherited title or given favour is poor guarantee that the person so elevated is actually qualified for shaping UK law. The inheritance of such influential positions is an outmoded mechanism of government and a huge waste of public funds. Likewise, the number of MPs inflates beyond reason the cost of running government.
