Wakeham Report
Encyclopedia
The Wakeham Report, published in 2000, was the report of a Royal Commission headed by Lord Wakeham, concerning reform of the United Kingdom
's House of Lords
. (See also Lords Reform
.)
s, Law Lords and Bishop
s; this means, effectively, that the Prime Minister and the governing party have great influence over the House of Lords, and it can be used as a source of political patronage. (This has recently become a more significant issue, owing to the Cash for Peerages
scandal.) An independent Honours and Appointments Commission would solve this problem, and would create a peerage that was less dependent on partisan influence.
The House is often also criticised because no part of it is directly accountable to the electorate; no peers stand for election
, and there is no normal procedure for removing peers. Adding some elected members, and limiting members' terms in office, might ameliorate this problem.
may pass it without the Lords' assent. The report did not address whether this situation would change, or remain the same.
Another important criticism of the report's recommendations is that adding some elected members to the House might create two 'classes' of members; the elected members might be seen as having greater democratic legitimacy and authority than the appointed members. This could also threaten the traditional primacy of the House of Commons within the Westminster
parliamentary system. One commentator, the Liberal Democrat
peer Lord McNally, wrote in January 2000: "Those who fear that a House of Lords with increased authority will challenge the status of the Commons and cause constitutional conflict - or "gridlock" as the Americans call it when the Senate and the Congress [sic] disagree - will worry that the Wakeham proposals set us on just that course. On the other hand, those who believe that the second chamber must have the full democratic mandate which only the ballot box can bestow will be disappointed."
Others were dissatisfied with the Wakeham Commission's refusal to remove appointed members; according to BBC
political correspondent Nick Assinder, "opponents accused the commission of failing to come up with a single, simple recommendation and allowing the creation of chamber of "Tony's cronies"".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. (See also Lords Reform
Lords Reform
For more than a century, governments in the United Kingdom have attempted to find a way to undertake a comprehensive reform of the House of Lords, which is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
.)
Recommendations of the report
The Commission explicitly did not recommend a wholly or predominantly elected chamber, and also rejected the idea of random selection of members. Instead, the following recommendations were made:- The membership of the House of Lords should be reduced to around 550.
- A majority of these should be appointed by an independent Honours and Appointments Commission, rather than by the Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
; this would reduce the role of the House as a source of political patronage. - A minority of members (between 60 and 195) should be elected on a regional basis, through proportional representationProportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. Three different models were proposed, with varying numbers of elected members; under all three models, members were to serve for "three electoral cycles" or 15 years. - Ministers should be accountable to the House of Lords as well as the House of Commons.
- The few remaining hereditary peerHereditary peerHereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
s should be removed.
Goals of the report
The intention of the report was to create a second chamber that would be an effective check on government power, while simultaneously making it more accountable to the electorate. At present, the Prime Minister recommends the appointment of life peerLife peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
s, Law Lords and Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s; this means, effectively, that the Prime Minister and the governing party have great influence over the House of Lords, and it can be used as a source of political patronage. (This has recently become a more significant issue, owing to the Cash for Peerages
Cash for Peerages
Cash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
scandal.) An independent Honours and Appointments Commission would solve this problem, and would create a peerage that was less dependent on partisan influence.
The House is often also criticised because no part of it is directly accountable to the electorate; no peers stand for election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
, and there is no normal procedure for removing peers. Adding some elected members, and limiting members' terms in office, might ameliorate this problem.
Criticisms of the report
The report has been criticised for not addressing some crucial issues. For instance, at present, the House of Lords only has a power of suspensive veto; they may only delay legislation for one year, after which the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
may pass it without the Lords' assent. The report did not address whether this situation would change, or remain the same.
Another important criticism of the report's recommendations is that adding some elected members to the House might create two 'classes' of members; the elected members might be seen as having greater democratic legitimacy and authority than the appointed members. This could also threaten the traditional primacy of the House of Commons within the Westminster
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
parliamentary system. One commentator, the Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
peer Lord McNally, wrote in January 2000: "Those who fear that a House of Lords with increased authority will challenge the status of the Commons and cause constitutional conflict - or "gridlock" as the Americans call it when the Senate and the Congress [sic] disagree - will worry that the Wakeham proposals set us on just that course. On the other hand, those who believe that the second chamber must have the full democratic mandate which only the ballot box can bestow will be disappointed."
Others were dissatisfied with the Wakeham Commission's refusal to remove appointed members; according to BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
political correspondent Nick Assinder, "opponents accused the commission of failing to come up with a single, simple recommendation and allowing the creation of chamber of "Tony's cronies"".