28 October

In the country of our current head of state, removing the system of hereditary peers sitting in the House of Lords is proving controversial – one was thrown out of the chamber during the debate after jumping on the the woolsack in protest. The Leader of the Lords, life peer Baroness Jay said it, “was time to say thank you and goodbye to the hereditaries” and that the current Lords is, “a vastly undemocratic set-up, in which huge numbers of people are born to automatic right to seats in the Houses of Parliament at the end of the 20th century going into the 21st century.” The Government plans for a reformed upper house to be in place by the time of the next general election in 2002, although it remains unclear how it will be chosen. WfaAR comment: the Brits realise that hereditary institutions are long past their use by date and so should we – but Australia could be a useful source of advice on selection/election models!