House of Lords Appointments Commission - "People's Peers"

"People's Peers"

The Commission makes recommendations for the appointment of non-partisan life peers. It has established for itself seven criteria upon which to base its decisions, seeking to recommend people with

• a record of significant achievement within their chosen way of life;
• the ability to make an effective and significant contribution to the work of the House of Lords;
• the time available to ensure they can make a contribution;
• some understanding of the constitutional framework, including the place of the House of Lords;
• integrity and independence;
• a commitment to the highest standards of public life; and
• independence from any political party.

The Commission has made recommendations for appointment on 12 occasions since its establishment in 2000, with a total of 57 people being recommended for peerages. All of these individuals went on to be nominated as and created life peers. Upon taking their seats, every one of them joined the crossbenches.

The fact that the type of people considered by the Commission for peers were to be neither aristocratic nor members of the "political class" led some in the British media to describe those it was to appoint as "people's peers". This term has never been a formal classification.

The purpose of the reform was to make the process more open and those making appointments more accountable. Upon the establishment of the Commission, the Prime Minister Tony Blair said it would ensure a House of Lords that was "more representative of our diverse society"; suitable candidates would be sought "in a wider field than up to now".

Following the first set of appointments in April 2001, it was, however, pointed out that those chosen included several knights as well as leading academics and scientists, having much the same establishment background that would have been made peers anyway. The very left-wing Labour MP Diane Abbott described them as "the metropolitan elite".