100,000 people want a new referendum – to abolish the House of Lords A petition calling for a referendum on the abolition of the House of Lords has received more than 100,000 signatures. […]

A petition calling for a referendum on the abolition of the House of Lords has received more than 100,000 signatures.

The petition, which will now be considered for a debate in Parliament, takes aim at the House of Lords as an undemocratic yet powerful fixture of British politics.

“The House of Lords is a place of patronage where unelected and unaccountable individuals hold a disproportionate amount of influence and power which can be used to frustrate the elected representatives of the people,” it reads.

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Calls for abolition

Peers have been accused of frustrating the result of the EU referendum after the Government faced rebellions on Brexit legislation in the House of Lords. It has led some Leave supporters to call for an elected upper chamber.

There has long been criticism of the House of Lords in part because of the public cost.

In 2017 it was revealed that more than 100 peers, who made no spoken contributions for a year, claimed £1.3 million in expenses.

At the time, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), David Hughes, said the figures were a “damning indictment of the state of the House of Lords”.

Elected House of Lords

The ERS is campaigning for an elected House of Lords.

“The House of Lords totally fails to represent the diverse skills and experience of UK citizens,” it says.

“It is out of control – with over 800 members the second largest legislative chamber in the world after China. And it costs far too much for an institution that fails to reflect the British public.”

The society proposes having just 300 members elected using a voting method resulting in proportional representation. It also wants to abolish the reserved seats for bishops of the Church of England.