Sir Keir Starmer pledges to abolish House of Lords in first term as prime minister | Politics News
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to abolish the House of Commons during his first term if he is elected prime minister.
Speaking to Sky News, the Labor leader confirmed his party “didn’t want to” abolish the House of Lords“, adding that he doesn’t think anyone can “defend” the organization.
Sir Keir’s comments come as he and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepare to make their announcement party committee report on the future of the UK – which Mr Brown has led – at a joint press conference in Leeds later today.
Yesterday, Mr. Brown said his party would repeal the law Manor house a key part of reform to the parliamentary system and revealed it was a proposal included in the report he headed for Labour.
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He said setting up the current House of Commons was “indefensible”, Labor would set up a new democratic second chamber called the Council of States and Regions.
Exploring this, Sir Keir told Kay Burley: “That’s one of the recommendations, as you know, in today’s report.
“What we’re going to do later today is consult on those proposals, test them, and especially look at how they can be implemented.”
Asked if he hoped that the House of Commons would be abolished during his first term as Prime Minister, Sir Keir replied: “Yes, I do.
“Because of what I asked when I asked Gordon Brown to form a committee to do this, I said what I wanted were recommendations that were likely to be implemented in the first term.”
He added: “We’re going to try to fix our economy and fix our politics and I want to make sure we do it correctly.”
But Tory’s colleague, Lord Norton, has called for caution over proposed reforms to the second chamber of parliament after suggesting it should be replaced with elected representatives.
“One has to be wary of some Big Bang reforms, great reforms, which often take the form of alternative activism – the country matters, one has to introduce constitutional reform because it’s a proposal. pretty simple, easy to understand, instead of really getting down to the real issues,” he told Times Radio.
The UK’s Future Report, produced two years ago, also recommends giving new economic, tax and legislative powers to mayors and authorized governments, and recommends reforms. sweeping constitution in an attempt to “clean up politics”.
It includes banning nearly all second jobs for MPs and moving 50,000 civil servants – 10% of the workforce – out of London.
Sir Keir also wants to develop 300 “economic clusters” across the country – from precision medicine in Glasgow to innovative media in Bristol and Bath – with the aim of doubling growth in the UK. .
The decentralization of power and money away from Westminster will be seen as a continuation of Tony Blair’s reforms and Labor’s answer to the Tories’ leveling scheme – as Mr. Keir looks set to present himself as prime minister-in-waiting with a serious plan for Britain.
Labor leaders will also frame this report as a response to both Brexit and Independent Scotland referendums.
“I argued to stay. But I couldn’t disagree with the basic case many voters made for me. They wanted democratic control over their lives,” Sir Keir will say. , arguing these frustrations over “a Westminster system seems far-fetched” was also the impetus for the 2014 independence referendum.
“People know England needs change. But they’ll never get it from the Tories.
“I determined that, with Labor, people would get the change they deserve.”
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Elsewhere in his morning media broadcast, Sir Keir said he did not want to abolish private schools, but argued that their current tax relief could not be “justified”.
He also said he did not believe a return to the single market would boost the UK’s economic growth – but added that he believed a “better Brexit” was likely.
Meanwhile, when asked about whether former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn could be re-admitted to the party, Sir Keir told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme: “I don’t see a case where he would join the party. next election as a Labor MP.”
Mr Corbyn was stripped of his whip for his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) scathing report on anti-Semitism in the party.
