Peerages, honours, House of Lords, John Prescott

The Labour government is gone, it’s time for the honours to be doled out. It’s a funny old parliamentary system we have here in Britain. The hereditary principle is still clinging on in the dusty old House of Lords but most of the peers are appointed these days.

With a new coalition in train it’s time for the dissolution honours and there are some rum customers in the list including our well-beloved John Prescott.

With his background as a steward in the ocean liners of a former time, trades union activist (then a pretty decent degree at the University of  Hull) John could well be described as a crusty class warrior but, he’s meekly taken ermine with the rest of them.

Well lots of us know that you have do many things to keep the wife happy….

He’s not alone though, Michael Howard is there, but it just seems fair enough for a tory to join the Lords. My former local MP, John McFall is heading for the red benches. I wondered what John would do after leaving the Commons. This looks like at least part of the answer. He did sterling service as chair of the Treasury Select Committee through the worst of the credit crunch and banking crisis, guess we could hardly grudge him his honour at this stage of his life. Good Luck John.

There’s a few other crusty class warriors that might raise an eyebrow or two mind…

Paul Boateng, I wrote a little bit about Paul a little while ago. A fiery left-winger with masses of energy, elected in the eighties and on first impressions looked like a contender.  Jack McConnell, former Scottish first Minister, brought up in the cauldron of West of Scotland politics where issues of class and religion are real and visceral. Helen Liddell, not heard much of Helen much lately (she’s been acting as British High Commissioner to Australia), but she was a noted Labour MP after an earlier association with Robert Maxwell at the Daily Record in Glasgow. All taking peerages.

Many will think there is an abandonment of principle involved in these left-wingers joining the establishment.

I don’t agree. The House of Lords gets a lot of flak but on the whole, I think it works pretty well. After all what is the alternative? Another House full of elected politicians, more elections, more scandals.

The upper chamber is a peculiarly British solution to the problem of review of primary legislation. Once the hereditaries are gone I think it is a pretty good compromise.

There has been a lot of reform over the last number of years, the inbuilt tory majority has been whittled down and although I poke a little fun at our new Labour intake, they are changing the makeup of the second chamber in a positive way.

I don’t want an elected chamber. The reforms of the last few years are creating something good and useful. Long time public servants have their honours but beyond the baubles they have an opportunity to contribute to the Common Good. The pool of knowledge and experience is not immediately lost to the country when they leave the Commons

And all of that is a very good thing…