Speaker says Lords is lacking expertise in key policies

Frances D’Souza made the admission when she became the first high-profile politician to speak at the University of Sheffield’s newly-created Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics.

“We are lacking experience in a number of key areas, including nursing, primary and secondary education and architecture,” she said.

The scientist and life peer accepted the argument that the Upper House needed to attract more people with day-to-day experience of key services in order to improve the scrutiny of government legislation.

The Lord Speaker also called for greater powers so life peers can be stripped of their title if they’re convicted of a criminal offence.

While MPs have been forced, rightly, after being convicted of expenses fraud, the same punishment has not applied to those members of the Lords who were jailed for comparable offences.

“We can’t even get rid of those peers who have committed a criminal offence,” she complained during a lecture which was part of a two-day tour of Yorkshire to promote greater understanding of the work of the House of Lords.

“Peers can be suspended but we cannot get rid of them. We could do with greater powers for those who break the code of conduct. Life peers are, in the law, a title for life at the present time.”

Pointing to the image problem that this was causing, she said legislation currently passing through the House of Commons could change this if common sense prevailed and Parliament backed the reform.