Nigel Farage has requested the ability to nominate Reform UK supporters for the House of Lords, asserting the need to address a democratic disparity. He noted that smaller parties like the Greens have representation despite Reform UK receiving a significant vote share in the last general election. The request was dismissed by Defence Secretary John Healey, who accused Farage of wanting to appoint cronies and highlighted his past stance on abolishing the Lords. Farage’s call has reignited discussions about the need for an elected second chamber.
Reform UK wishes to appoint life peers to the upper house at the earliest possible opportunity. Political appointments to the Lords are made at the discretion of the prime minister, who is under no constitutional obligation to elevate opposition figures to the Lords. But under political convention, No 10 invites opposition leaders to nominate candidates for peerages.
My party received over 4.1m votes at the general election in July 2024. We have since won a large number of seats in local government, led in the national opinion polls for many months and won the only byelection of this parliament.
Healey said Farage wanted to fill the Lords with his cronies. He also pointed out that Farage had previously called for the abolition of the Lords. Healey said: I'm not sure that parliament's going to benefit from more Putin apologists like Nigel Farage, to be honest.
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