Abolish the House of Commons and not the House of Lords!

So, surprise, surprise, the Rwanda Bill has become law with none of the amendments proposed by the House of Lords having been incorporated. The amendments inserted by the Lords sought to ensure that our country respects international law and protect fundamental matters of individual justice. The Lords pushed the process to the limit of their powers. They were clearly unhappy with the shape of the bill as presented by the government. But the Rwanda Bill has become so much the lynch pin of the government’s immigration policy that no amendments by the House of the Lords which, in their view, will “weaken” (i.e make less unjust!) it could be accepted, and, inevitably, the government has forced it through the House of Commons and it is now law.

Some people will think “what’s the point of the House of Lords then?” and then think that the Lords needs radical reform even abolition. Certainly, many think that the unelected Lords does not sit well within a democratic society. Such views are mistaken. Of all the institutions  of our democracy the House of the Lords is the one that actually works! In its present form, it is intended to review and revise proposed legislation by the House of Commons. It is appointed and not elected so that it can draw together individuals who have deep experience of the many areas of civic life and expertise in the many areas of our society. It runs an “expert” and “well-informed” eye over proposed legislation and proposes amendments to improve or safeguard important principles. This is exactly what the Lords did with the Rwanda Bill. Just because the Commons decided to reject the amendments by the Lords does not mean that it has failed of its purpose. And, precisely because the Lords is unelected, the Commons always has the last word.

Contrary to what most people think, the least democratic and least effective institution in our democracy is the House of Commons. We think we are electing MP’s to represent our views. This is false. We are not electing representatives, we are electing voting fodder for the political parties. MPs do not vote on legislation because they think it is good or right, they vote because they are told to vote by their parties. Hence, we have seen that no amendments seriously reducing the arbitrary powers of the Rwanda Bill have passed in the Commons because the Tory MPs were told to vote for it by the government. The House of Commons is not a democratic institution. It is a machine designed to provide a democratic gloss for government legislation.