House of Lords Bill [HL]

I do not think that the noble Lord is being disingenuous, but if he looks at the actual Bill, Clause 2(4) refers to, ""members affiliated with registered political parties"." That includes the great majority of this House. The White Paper made it clear that the political parties would have a role and that it would be on grounds of probity alone, as the noble Lord, Lord Norton, said, that the statutory Appointments Commission would have a role. It will not be selecting members of the Labour Party or the Conservative Party—neither party would put up with that. That is very clear. I hope that I can find a softer word than "disingenuous" to suggest that the noble Lord’s is not a reasonable critique of the Bill.