People must hold power, not unelected oligarchs
The anti-democratic House of Lords, which is dominated by political cronies, is a shame on the UKs democratic scorecard, says Scottish Greens Co-Leader Patrick Harvie.
The call came as protesters disrupted the House of Lords.
Last year, the Scottish Greens pushed for a ban on Members of the House of Lords serving in the Scottish Parliament, which would require any MSP to resign before taking up a seat in the unelected house in London.
Scottish Greens Co-Leader Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“The House of Lords is a farcical relic of an institution that should have been scrapped long ago, how anyone can defend this archaic affront to democracy in 2025 is beyond me.
“Keir Starmer promised to reform the Lords in his general election campaign. Indeed, it was a founding principle of the Labour Party, yet just as they have for over 100 years, whenever they get into power, they make negligible tweaks that barely amount to any change at all.
“Westminster’s parties are entrenched in this broken system; whether it's Labour or the Tories in charge, the London political elite won't deliver the change that Scotland deserves.
“We’ve seen a staggering number of former MPs who were rejected at the ballot box given lifetime peerages, and political donors like Michelle Mone awarded seats as a reward for their loyalty, we cannot allow this unchecked balance of power to continue.
“Scotland has a really important choice to make at next year's Holyrood election; with a pro-independence majority, can we break away from this archaic system and build a modern democracy that represents the voice of the Scottish people.”