Lord Sewel resigns from House of Lords after drug claims
"The key number to look at is the number of people who actually attend rather than those who are entitled to attend because there are an awful lot of peers who do not go along," he said.
"There are people going out as well as coming in. I think you have to keep an eye on the size but the key question is does the House of Lords do the job that people need it to do?"
Mr Cameron, whose government does not have a majority in the Lords and has suffered a number of defeats already, said peers should be "encouraged" to retire when no longer able to contribute.
Asked whether he would reconsider plans to reportedly create up to 40 new peers in the coming weeks, the prime minister said the Lords should "more accurately reflect" the composition of the Commons, the majority of whose members are Conservative.
Labour and the Lib Dems have called for cross-party talks on the future of the House of Lords while the SNP said the episode illustrated the need for it to be abolished and replaced by a fully elected chamber.
"The House of Lords has never been held in such contempt by the Scotti
This article suggests that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of section 28(7) has created such problems in relation to the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament that the provision needs to be amended, repealed or qualified.
Text
The terms of section 28(7) appear innocuous. Section 28(1) confers power on the Scottish Parliament to make laws to be known as Acts of the Scottish Parliament (“ASPs”), subject to section 29 which provides that an ASP is not law in so far as any provision is outside the legislative competence of the Parliament. Section 28(7) provides:
This section does not affect the power of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to make laws for Scotland.
Original view
Originally, the view was taken that, as Lord Sewel expressed it in the House of Lords on 21 July , section 28(7):
makes it clear that the devolution of legislative competence to the Scottish parliament does not affect the ability of Westminster to legislate for Scotland even in relation to devolved matters.
Hansard, HL vol , col
In other words, it was simply taken to be an expression of the sovereignty of the UK Parliament and, as such, as Lord Hope said
Lord Sewel quits as Lords deputy speaker after drug claims
Lord Sewel is facing a police inquiry after quitting as House of Lords deputy speaker over a video allegedly showing him taking drugs with prostitutes.
Lords Speaker Baroness D'Souza said he had also quit as chairman of the Lords privileges and conduct committee in the wake of the Sun on Sunday, external's story.
The footage showed him snorting powder from a woman's breasts with a £5 note.
Baroness D'Souza said his behaviour was "shocking and unacceptable" and that she was referring him to the police.
"Lord Sewel has this morning resigned as chairman of committees. The House of Lords will continue to uphold standards in public life and will not tolerate departure from these standards," she said.
"These serious allegations will be referred to the House of Lords commissioner for standards and the Metropolitan Police for investigation as a matter of urgency."
In the footage, Lord Sewel, who is married, also discusses the Lords' allowances system.
The peer is yet to comment on the claims.
Who is Lord Sewel and what are House of Lords rules?
Under new rules which came into force earlier this year, peers could theoretically be expelled if they are found to have breached the code of conduct, external that all members are expected to uphold.
The code requires members to act in the public interest, and in accordance with the seven general principles of conduct identified by the Committee on Standards in Public Life - selflessness; integrity; objectivity; accountability; openness; honesty and leadership.
No peer has yet been expelled and to pave the way for this, the Lords would merely need to change its standing orders - the rules which govern its business.
But there was a long way to go before we got to this point in this case. There would have needed to be an investigation by the Lords authorities - which was likely to take months and would not begin until any criminal proceedings were completed.
In the past, peers have been temporarily suspended for expenses fraud, lobbying scandals and other misconduct but have all ultimately returned to the House of Lords, while Lord Archer remained a peer after being jailed for perjury.
But since , peers convicted of a
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