Charles Moore Charles Moore

MPs won’t ditch the House of Lords

The Supreme Court decided rightly on Wednesday, rejecting the Scottish government’s claim that a second referendum on independence was not a ‘reserved matter’. But since it was obvious from the beginning that this was the case, why did Nicola Sturgeon insist on bringing an unwinnable action? Presumably to lay blame, as usual, on UK authorities. The Supreme Court is presented as the enemy of the people, Ms Sturgeon conveniently forgetting that the people, when last asked, voted against independence and may not wish to be asked again in the hope that they will give the ‘right’ answer. The SNP will now claim that the next Scottish parliament election will be amount to the referendum ‘London’ has forbidden. Will this help the SNP? At the risk of being complacent, I suspect not. Scots – like Catalans and Quebeckers – have worked out that it is fun to alarm and milk the central power, but not so much fun to abandon its protection and its money by seceding. Ms Sturgeon is aware of this, but cannot admit it. Her problem is that rather than being midwife to the birth of a nation, she appears ever more like a vexatious litigant.

Labour says it wants to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected assembly representative of the regions. It has had similar policies throughout its history, but never put them into effect. Reform of the House of Lords is possibly the most boring of all subjects because its supporters deliberately avoid the key prior question, which is: ‘What do you want to do with the House of Commons?’ Since (at the latest) 1911, our constitutional arrangements have depended on the idea that the Commons, being elected, is overwhelmingly the more powerful legislative and governmental force.

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