Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to consult Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, while not ruling out House of Lords roles for the former prime ministers to serve a Labour government.
Speaking to Matt Chorley on Times Radio about Labour’s plans for the House of Lords, Sir Keir said he “of course” wants to talk to the Labour grandees about moving into government.
On Wednesday it was revealed the party is planning to increase the number of Labour peers to push through policy if it forms a government, despite pledging to abolish the upper house in the first term of a Labour administration.
Sir Keir said: “There is a mismatch at the moment, we’ve got far less peers than the Conservatives and obviously we’ve got to get the business of government through, but this is not some developed plan, I’ve not discussed it with anyone.”
“People who know what they’re talking about”
Asked by Chorley whether he wanted to tell Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to “get in the house of Lords, do your bit,” Sir Keir said: “What I do want to do is take advice from people who know what they’re talking about.
“What I’m trying to do is get the Labour party from a terrible election defeat in 2019, what will be 13 or 14 years in opposition, into government.
“So, do I want to talk to Tony Blair and to Gordon Brown, who were the last leaders that achieved that switch from opposition into government for a Labour party? Of course I do.”
“Not actually about the substance of particular policies, but more about the framework, the approach, pace.
“So much has changed in 25 years that a policy discussion wouldn’t be the right one, but it is about understanding how does a party go from years in opposition into power, hopefully and into government.”
Lords
On Wednesday Sir Keir’s spokesperson said the party could introduce “interim reforms” before replacing the Lords with a new elected chamber in a first term.
The spokesman said: “Every government when they first come into power do not have a majority within the House of Lords because of the nature of the appointments process.
“And every government as a matter of custom and practice looks to make appointments to the House of Lords but it’s not something that’s done in one fell swoop, it’s something that takes time and often takes more than a term in government for that to happen.”
He said new Labour peers would be expected to back abolition, with the full details of the policy to be set out ahead of the next general election.
There are currently 779 members in the Lords, with 263 Tory members and 174 Labour.
Interim reforms
Sir Keir’s spokesman suggested reforms could take place before full abolition, such as getting rid of by-elections for the remaining hereditary peers.
He said: “There may be interim reforms along the way, I’m not ruling that out.”
In December Sir Keir unveiled plans led by Gordon Brown to replace the Lords with a democratic assembly of nations and regions.
He told BBC Breakfast: “I think the House of Lords is indefensible.
“Anybody who looks at the House of Lords would struggle to say that it should be kept.
“So we want to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected chamber that has a really strong mission.”
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