Lord Timothy Kirkhope: In defence of Yorkshire's peers

I read The Yorkshire Post’s coverage of the latest Electoral Commission report 
on representation from our great region with much interest. We often talk about the large number of members of the upper House (about 800) without understanding that that number represents all peers in the UK, irrespective of whether or not they attend the House of Lords or perform legislative duties there.

Quite a number enjoy their titles, but see no reason to spend time in Westminster. This means that the active members are a smaller body and, of those, an even smaller number are regular attendees. There is no salary so, although expenses for travelling to London are paid, there is no strong incentive to be working every day that 
we meet.

In that context, we need to look at the nature of the Yorkshire “influence” which we bring to bear on proceedings and, in that case, I can say with confidence that it is substantially greater than the simple numbers might suggest.

Yorkshire, and the interests of our region, are regularly raised both in debates and questions to Ministers, and also deployed by our activities supporting all-party parliamentary groups.

If I have one criticism, it is that I
regret that some business and professional organistions do not sufficiently involve our peers in their meetings in Yorkshire itself, concentrating only on the MPs who represent us in the House of Commons.

Our committee structure is well known and respected as being the most thorough and competent in Westminster and those who have appeared before us to give evidence on Yorkshire issues will, I’m sure, acknowledge that.

Some people argue that because we are an unelected House we have less value than the House of Commons. I disagree strongly with that. The objectivity that we can bring to Government business is really important. When we are appointed, we lose our right to vote in general elections as well, thus enhancing our freedom to look at legislation carefully and recommend changes 
when we think it appropriate without undue pressure.

Also, we must not forget that although the numbers of Yorkshire peers may look comparatively few based on home addresses, there are many more who were born and bred and educated in the North before taking their skills and heritage to other places where they may have done extremely well.

They say that appointment to the Lords is on merit and certainly most of the members have excelled in their chosen careers, but sometimes retaining a Yorkshire address has not been possible.

It has been suggested that we simply need more Yorkshire people to be appointed to the Lords. That would be nice, but should we not also see how we might work better with the present incumbents? We are more than happy to respond to requests to assist using our combined experience in strategic planning and decision-making.

I have been a prime mover for Yorkshire devolution for the last four years but my work has mostly gone on behind the scenes, and I have therefore not been seen as part of an “official” campaign as much as some of our 
council leaders and MPs.

As a lawyer and a long time spokesman on home affairs and justice, both in the UK and in Europe, I am more than happy to respond to invitations to speak or assist. Sadly, I now receive many more such invites for events in London than I do in Yorkshire!

For instance, as one of the authors of the latest anti-money laundering legislation and the new data protection regulations as well as countless international agreements in the fields 
of law and security which affect
Yorkshire just as much as other parts
of the country, I am always happy to 
share my knowledge and experience 
with any organisations that make contact with me.

By all means let’s have even more members of the House of Lords who come from Yorkshire but, in the meantime, let’s use those we’ve already got more effectively.

Timothy Kirkhope has been a Conservative peer since October 2016. Now Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, he was MP Leeds North East 1987-97 and MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber between 1999-2016.