I do not know about that but, having heard what other hereditary Members of the House have said today, I doubt that would have been the case. At the time, I thought it was a very odd decision, but there it is. That is why retirement is there, and if an amendment comes forward to remove it I will support it, irrespective of the wider provisions.
The proportion of hereditary Peers is now lower now than it was in 1999, when there were 666 of us. I do not believe that that is a conclusive argument either way: I simply note the fact. I found unattractive the appeal to self-interest of my noble friend Lord Cormack, who said: “You will not be affected, so do not worry, you can come along with us”. That exemplified the
eagerness to beguile noble Lords into accepting a long-term result. No one in this House, including my noble friends, should not feel they have to act upon self-interest, even if that were the case.
11.45 am
I will support Amendment 59 if it is moved and give notice that I degroup Amendment 33A in my name, which is in a later group with Amendment 6. This is not in order to effect delay. When the House discussed this before, the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, said that he might accept the principle concerned. The final, fundamental objection to the Bill is its political effect. It strikes very heavily against the Cross Benches and the Conservative Party, because of their larger proportion of hereditary Peers. The Conservative Party currently has 49 hereditary Peers out of 246. If the Bill went through, that would reduce in time to 197, whereas the Labour Party, with four, would be reduced in time to 189. Unless a hereditary Peer who left was replaced at once by a life Peer without objection, this would have a damaging effect on the political balance of the House. I give notice that I am degrouping Amendment 33A. If we get to it—I hope we do, because we should proceed—I hope the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, will then indicate that he would consider accepting it on Report.
I support Amendment 59 and counsel your Lordships against aligning themselves with a Bill that would produce an all-appointed House without the consent of the people.