Cruddas nomination shows House of Lords needs urgent reform- your views

House of Lords needs urgent reform

The nomination of a peerage to Tory donor, Peter Cruddas by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, exemplifies the huge failings in the British political system.

Mr Cruddas - and I am sure it is a mere coincidence - has donated £3.3 million to the Conservatives, including a £658,000 gift since Mr Johnson became Prime Minister. He resigned as Tory co-treasurer in 2012 after he offered reporters access to Prime Minister, David Cameron, in exchange for a £250,000 donation.

In August, Russian newspaper owner and a friend of Mr Johnson, Evgeny Lebedev was handed a peerage and bizarrely became Baron Lebedev of Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond on Thames and of Siberia in the Russian Federation. Mr Johnson also awarded a peerage to his own brother at the same time.

There are now 830 unelected lawmakers lounging on the red benches, despite a Lords committee recommending this number be capped at 600. Many of these flunkies and cronies pick up £300 a day in expenses, often doing very little as members of what is in essence a publicly funded private club.

This yet again illustrates why the House of Lords, which stands out as a bizarre anomaly in nearly all western democracies, needs urgent radical reform – which will, of course, not be forthcoming. In this festive season turkeys, as they say, do not vote for Christmas.

Lawmakers should not be appointed through the patronage of the Prime Minister or by accident of birth but elected by us, the people.

Alex Orr, Marchmont Road, Edinburgh.

Give Nicola a break – she’s only human

Whether you are a Nicola Sturgeon supporter or not, the outrage from some quarters on the First Minister momentarily forgetting to wear her face mask makes me really angry.

Who hasn’t forgotten to reapply/put on their face mask at some point? Good for you if you’ve never erred, but I’ve done this at least twice. Give this woman a break for goodness sake….and anyone else who makes this brief blunder for that matter. The extensive coverage of this simple mistake on TV, radio and in the press is crazy.

Judi Martin, Maryculter, Aberdeenshire.

Forgive Sturgeon folly but not Ferrier’s

Nicola Sturgeon’s failure to wear a mask at a pub wake was arguably no more than careless and foolish - though somewhat dangerous in that she mixes with large numbers of people daily.

Theoretically she should be fined, though this seems unlikely. Her lapse serves as a reminder, however, that her friend and former colleague, nationalist MP, Margaret Ferrier not only remains in her £80,000 plus job but still has avoided even being charged after potentially endangering the lives of hundreds of people, as a consequence of travelling hundreds of miles by train and wandering around Westminster while suspecting or knowing she had Covid-19.

Many may feel Ms Sturgeon should be forgiven for her lapse; I'd suggest most of us believe Ms Ferrier should not.

Martin Redfern, Melrose, Roxburghshire.

Stamp out shortfalls by helping fund RNIB

Rather than gifting money, this Christmas you can help support the Royal National Institute of Blind People by collecting and donating used stamps from cards and parcels you may receive.

To get involved and receive a pre-paid envelope for your stamps, visit www.rnib.org.uk/stamps or call 0303 123 9999.

Vanessa Feltz, RNIB, Orton Southgate, Peterborough.