I sit here again, cradling my head in my hands and wondering what foul misdeeds I committed in a former life to deserve the hell that I am living in today:

Plans to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a 300-strong, wholly elected second chamber are to be unveiled by ministers in a key political move ahead of the general election.

There really seems to be no end to the destruction of British life that this government wishes to inflict upon us. Not content with deliberately opening the floodgates of immigration in a cynical move to obtain more client voters; not content with destroying the economy through a combination of box-ticking regulation and complete mismanagement; not content with crippling us by pouring every penny of our taxes, our children’s taxes, our grandchildren’s taxes and our great-grandchildren’s taxes into a swathe of grandiose but useless projects and leaving nothing for real needs and most definitely not content with handing over the sovereignty of our country to the EU, Labour has decided that it now needs to gut the recalcitrant Lords because too many of them are still not solely motivated by greed and personal gain.

It should, of course, come as no surprise that the slipperiest of slippery weasels is responsible for this looming indignity:

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, is this weekend consulting cabinet colleagues on a blueprint which would represent the biggest change to the way Britain is governed for several decades.

The proposals, which have been leaked to The Sunday Telegraph and which are expected to be announced soon, would sweep away centuries of tradition and set ministers on a collision course with the current 704-member House of Lords, which is resolutely opposed to having elected members.

Shamefully, there isn’t even the dignity of genuine progressive motivation behind this awful charade:

Ministers are ready to announce their plans, which follow years of fruitless cross-party discussions and several votes in the House of Commons, in a bid to wrong-foot the Tories with polling day less than two months away.

Labour’s plan is to provoke elements inside the Conservative Party to object to the reforms – which would allow it to paint David Cameron as wedded to old ideas of privilege.

It’s really shameful that people are so uninterested in the running of the country that blood is not running in the streets about this. And it’s easy to see that there is no genuine motivation behind this: the timing. Labour has had more than a decade to address electoral reform. Indeed, the toothy grinner had a despicable stab at it by removing hereditary peerages. At the desperate fag end of this shameful chapter of British history, the useless flunking cyst that occupies the Prime Ministerial seat is reduced to such shameful antics in a desperate attempt to find a “dividing line” between his political party and that of his opposition.

Is this truly what politics has come to in this country?

1
lenko March 19, 2010 at 09:06

Second chamber to be lead by Lords Tony and Mandy, before Tony and Queen wed (after both are granted special divorces by Pope Benny the Rat) and our former leader becomes King Tone the first. EU adopts the pound stirling. England changes religion to Catholic and comes under Vatican control. Everything to be either banned or made compulsory.

You can’t make it up

2
Antisthenes March 19, 2010 at 09:16

I understand that election of members to this new House of Lords (Senate) is to be by PR so ensuring that there will always be a left wing bias. So in the unlikely situation that the Conservatives secure a workable majority in the House of Commons, when they need 5%+ more votes than Labour to do so, an almost impossible task, then Conservative governments will never be able to put in place right wing legislation or repeal left wing ones. Slowly over the last 60 years power has been stolen from the people by left wing manipulations and machinations. Democracy is almost dead, this new body would ensure it’s total demise.

3
Anon 00:32 March 19, 2010 at 09:42

To be elected on a Saturday nite, txt votes cost £1 + your usual provider charge, or by calling 0901 666 xxx where the last 3 digits represent your vote, calls cost £1 per minute, proceeds go directly to charity, the Gordon Brown ‘no Chianti’ prescription med fund. Voting closes at midnite but govt reserves right to pocket the extra funds.

Lords Factor, 9pm Saturday ITV1, 2, 3, 4, BBC1, 2, 3, 4

4
JohnW March 19, 2010 at 10:13

“…would represent the biggest change to the way Britain is governed for several decades.” Wasn’t that the Lisbon Treaty? Westminster is largely a sideshow now now matter how either House is run.

5
Old Slaughter March 19, 2010 at 11:48

Photos are back on form!

6
Thaddeus J. Wilson March 19, 2010 at 14:10

Old Slaughter, so pleased to be of service!

7
Demetrius March 19, 2010 at 14:13

I posted on this a couple of days ago under “Jack Straws Castle” referring to a fuller blog last year. To come up with this old chestnut days before a general election, never mind the shambles that is proposed, is about as barmy as you can get.

8
blastproof@rocketmail.com March 19, 2010 at 17:32

Labour are wreckers. The Constitution is in tatters. They dismantled the United Kingdom. Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Regional Assemblies, eviction of most hereditary peers, abolition of the House of Lords spiritual and temporal, establishment of the Senate with no bishops, disestablishment of the Church of England, abolition of the Monarchy etc