Back our campaign to get an elected House of Lords
Over the last few weeks our newspapers have been filled with headlines about alleged corruption in the House of Lords. The accusations of peers amending laws in exchange for cash are deeply shocking, and this case points to the urgent need to reform our Parliament and revive British democracy.
The truth is, it's high time we drag our political system into the 21st century. For millions of people across the UK our Parliament feels remote and out of touch and nowhere more so than the House of Lords, where power still rests on privilege. Labour has failed to live up to their promise to overhaul the second chamber so that it is fully democratic. A Conservative Government wouldn't deliver real change either, because deep down they still have too much riding on vested interests. For both of these parties transparency comes second to tradition, and they would rather defend arcane and pompous rituals than pursue accountability and reform.
The Liberal Democrats are different.
We believe no one is above the law - including the peers who legislate in this country. If they break those laws they should be stripped of their peerages and removed from the House of Lords.
We believe that you shouldn't be able to pick and choose what taxes you pay just because you can afford a fancy accountant to help you run rings around the taxman. All members of the House of Lords should pay full British taxes instead of exploiting loopholes that get them out of paying their fair share.
And we believe if you are lucky enough to have the privilege of representing the British people you should have been chosen by them. That means all our peers should be directly elected.
The Government has had nearly 12 years to fix the House of Lords and they have failed. It's up to us to demand that corruption is flushed out of our political system, and that influence doesn't come with a price tag. Join our campaign at www.nickclegg.com/2009/02/elected-parliament-campaign/ to put power back where it belongs: with the people.
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