Why Labour must see through House of Lords reforms - Yorkshire Post Letters

I hope that Labour sees the policy of removing unelected hereditary peers through, as it was first discussed in 1999 under Sir Tony Blair's government (The Yorkshire Post, September 5).

The latest government figures reveal that in 2022-23 the running of the House of Lords cost a staggering £104,670 million, add to this, allowances and travel expenses for the eligible 776 members the cost escalating to an 'eye watering' £211,100 millions to the taxpayer. Is the House of Lords delivering value for money to the British taxpayer? The answer is a strong no.

With Labour proposing another period of austerity, due to the £22bn 'Black hole' left by the Tory government, how many of the commitments will they agree to?

I am sure that Labour will honour public sector pay awards for teachers and doctors, and have settled the long running junior doctors dispute and train drivers and train guards disputes since they came into power.

Increasing funding to support the Ukraine government and dealing with the illegal asylum seekers with over 7,000 coming into the UK since they came into power bringing the total to over 21,000 this year so far.

How can any government put a cost on processing asylum seekers?

I would like the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, to answer this question as it is part of her ministerial portfolio?

I wonder how much extra has been added to the £22bn 'black hole' since Labour came into power?

Labour's taking an easy option in this autumn's budget by targeting 10 million pensioners by removing their winter fuel allowance. This in my opinion is a total disgrace as when the government is debating this in the warm Houses of Parliament (the antiquated heating system in the Houses of Parliament makes it difficult to control the temperature) many pensioners will be struggling to heat their homes.

If Labour pushes through this policy of removing 92 hereditary peers some real savings can be made in Parliament which will not be noticed by the majority of the UK population.

I acknowledge that all political parties in government need scrutinising to prevent them voting through obscure bills in the House of Commons.

How many people know that shaking a rug in the street or hanging washing across a street is illegal?

On a light hearted note as we are in 2024, surely these need to be removed from legislation as the only time that I have seen both of these is in episodes of the long running comedy 'Last of The Summer Wine' which entertained us for over 30 years.

I do look forward to watching the autumn budget statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to see what impact it has on our family's budget.