Revealed: the 53 peers silent for five years

The wind of change is sweeping through the Upper House. What with Labour’s plans to expel the last hereditaries and Gavin Williamson’s effort to boot the bishops too, soon the House of Lords will be devoid of any colour. How will the sketch writers cope eh? Today brings more bad news for traditionalist lovers of the lords and ladies in ermine.

For Politico reports that there are growing calls to exclude members of the House of Lords who rarely attend or take part in debates. The convenor of the crossbenchers Lord Kinnoull has suggested that expelling those who attend 10 percent or less of sitting days could cut the size of the Lords by 100 peers. Peers are understood to be pushing for tighter attendance requirements as part of the Hereditary Peerages Bill – though ministers are expected to resist such changes.

So, in the spirit of open government so sadly lacking in Whitehall, Mr S has done some digging into the identity of these so-called absentee peers.