Five key takeaways from the Guardian's House of Lords series

The Guardian

15-03-2025

'Indefensible' was how Keir Starmer described the House of Lords three years ago when he proposed ambitious changes that would replace it with an elected second chamber drawn from the nations and the regions.
Now in power, Labour's plans are somewhat watered down, and even the first step, abolishing hereditary peers, is being challenged.
But Starmer is under pressure to do more: two peers are now the subject of inquiries by a parliamentary watchdog following revelations in the Lords debate, a months-long investigation by the Guardian.
Here are some key takeaways from our reporting on peers and their commercial interests:
Undercover filming by the Guardian revealed the involvement of Lord Evans of Watford, a longstanding Labour peer, in an apparent cash-for-access venture.
David Evans was recorded offering access to ministers during discussions about the sponsorship of a commercial event in parliament, a deal worth £25,000. The event was organised by his son's company and hosted by Evans. Speaking with what he believed to be property developers wanting to lobby the government, he said: 'It's great being a Labour peer at the moment because we've got our mates who now have senior jobs, which is wonderful.'
Evans is now under investigation by the Lords standards watchdog for potential breaches of the House of Lords code of conduct. Evans has said he has not broken the rules, and has denied any wrongdoing. Evans said he had never taken payment or benefits from his son's company.
The story was covered in an episode of the Today in Focus podcast.
Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, was secretly filmed by the Guardian telling undercover reporters he could make introductions within the government and that he would 'make a point of getting to know' the best-placed minister, despite rules prohibiting peers from lobbying.
He said he could easily 'rub shoulders' with the right people in the Lords if he needed to approach a minister in order to promote the potential client. Lord Dannatt also said he had previously introduced a company, in which he was given a shareholding, to a minister and civil servants.
On Friday, the Lords commissioners opened an investigation into Dannatt for potential breaches of the code.
He is one of three peers whose conduct is currently under scrutiny. The others are Evans and Michelle Mone. All three inquiries were opened as the result of questions raised by reporting in the Guardian. The Lady Mone inquiry was launched in 2022 after a separate investigation into Covid procurement contracts. The fact that an investigation is taking place does not mean that the rules have been broken.
An expert who reviewed the material said he felt Dannatt's comments represented a 'clear breach' of the rules. Dannatt said he did not agree his conduct had broken Lords rules.
This was not the first time undercover reporters had filmed Dannatt. During his meeting with the reporters, Dannatt said he was 'very wary and nervous' because he had been the target of an undercover sting by the Sunday Times more than a decade ago.
Dannatt was cleared of any wrongdoing on the previous occasion.
More broadly, campaigners and professional lobbyists have called for a tightening of the rules on peers, which are explained here.
The rules are less stringent than the equivalent rules for MPs, who are no longer allowed to take paid consultancies to give political advice.
In contrast, Guardian analysis found more than one in 10 peers are paid for political or policy advice.
Sue Hawley, the director of the transparency group Spotlight on Corruption, said there was a risk that peers, who have special access to ministers and officials, were perceived by the public 'to be using their privileged position to obtain political consultancies of this kind'.
The series has brought to light a number of cases which raise questions about how peers balance the public interest with their commercial interests. They include:
Iain McNicol, a Labour peer who wrote to the Treasury on behalf of a cryptocurrency firm that was paying him as an adviser.
Philip Hammond, the former chancellor, who has made millions from 30 directorships and consultancy jobs since becoming a peer.
A select committee that scrutinises the Financial Conduct Authority, on which a majority of members have current or recent interests in the financial sector.
The Lords continues various traditions, from seating arrangements dating back to the reign of Henry VIII, to its insistence that it is the morning until the house sits, even if that is at 2.30pm.
An explainer on the upper chamber gives more detail on the role of Norman French (old language, not a person) in ping-pong (parliamentary procedure, not a game) and what 'bottom boy' and ferrets (silk ribbons, not a weasel) have to do with it all.
It also explains how peers can claim a daily allowance of £361 for simply turning up.The Guardian found 15 peers who claimed more than £500,000 in allowances despite not saying a word in the chamber, sitting on a committee, or holding any government post during the last parliament.
The Guardian also found that members have been paid more than £3m in the last two years by foreign governments, including repressive Middle Eastern regimes.
The question of reforming the red benches is not a new one. A government bill, outlined in Labour's manifesto, seeks to remove the remaining rump of hereditary peers left over in 1999 changes and is destined for the statute book.
But the other changes mooted by Labour, including an age limit of 80 that would force peers to retire, have no clear schedule. Analysis by the Guardian, which was cited by one peer in the chamber, found that such a change would affect Labour's seats vastly more than Conservatives'.
Some calls are coming from inside the house. Carmen Smith, a Plaid Cymru peer and the youngest member, pledged to campaign for the abolition of the Lords.
Smith wrote that the bill was 'a minimal reform'. She said: 'It falls far short of what was outlined in the Labour party's manifesto, and does nothing to stem the jobs-for-life handed out by prime ministers to their party donors and friends.'
Concerns over how party donors have ended up in the Lords are longstanding. Analysis by the Guardian found that peers who sat in the last parliament have given a combined £109m in political donations, almost £50m of which was contributed before they secured their seats.
Further analysis found that just 10% of peers made more than half of all debate contributions.
David Cameron once described the houses of parliament as looking 'half like a museum, half like a church, half like a school'. No ordinary school, though; the Lords is more Eton college than Grange Hill. Lord Cameron and more than half of the upper chamber are alumni of private secondary schools.