The Lords is not fit for purpose, reform is the only way forward

The sight of former MP's like Zac Goldsmith being rewarded for failure by Boris Johnson is a step too far

Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith speaks after losing his Richmond Park seat during the general election (PA)

Boris Johnson might talk of ‘one nation’ politics but he shows no sign of wanting to reform the House of Lords, the largest unelected house of government in the world. In a modern multi-faith Britain, how can the Church of England be the only faith entitled to 26 seats for their Bishops?

With almost 800 members, the Lords has outgrown the size of the Chamber and hardly reflects the population at large. It remains the last bastion of patronage and cronyism, dominated by white old men. Lord Burns’ 2017 report on reforming the Upper House proposed the Chamber should shrink to 600 gradually, on a ‘two out, one in’ basis, but this hasn’t been implemented. Like Proportional Representation, modernising the House of Lords is an urgently needed to democratise modern politics, and every party except the Tories supports an elected second chamber.

This week, Boris Johnson followed his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron by sending even more cronies - including Zac Goldsmith – to the Lords, and there’s even talk that Jo Swinson will be nominated by the Lib Dems. Why do we continue to reward failure?