The row over tax credits could blow out into something much bigger. The House of Lords may table a ‘fatal’ motion — the deadline is 4pm today — which could see peers voting next week to kill off the statutory instrument needed to allow the cuts to come into action. But if that happens, will the government flood the House of Lords with new Tory peers or even suspend it? On the Today programme Lord Robin Butler, the former Cabinet Secretary and a crossbench peer, said the Lords has to accept it is the inferior chamber on financial matters and the Commons has passed the cuts:
‘The fact is the House of Commons has passed it. The House of Lords has long accepted the supremacy of the House of Commons on tax and expenditure — however frustrating that might be for members of the Lords. And there’s no doubt this is a tax and expenditure issue.’
Butler argued it would be ‘quite wrong’ for the Lords to try and overturn the statutory instrument and the government would have a ‘legitimate grievance’ if it did:
‘The House of the Lords is already too big and the fact is that this was established 100 years ago that the House of Lords doesn’t oppose the House of Commons on tax and financial matters and the government would have a quite legitimate grievance if it did and so that would really be an example of the House of Lords getting too big for its nonelected boots.’
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