"Its cheap for what I do for them" These are the words of Labour Peer, Lord Taylor of Blackburn as he explained why companies are prepared up to pay him up to £100,000 for services rendered. According to the Times, these services include tabling legislative amendments for anyone willing to bung him tasty little earner.
According to Lord Taylor, he was actually following the rules when he offered to subvert the democratic process. Nevertheless, he felt obliged to simultaneously apologise to the House of Lords for bringing it into disrepute and deny any "wrong-doing". There were no apologies for ordinary voters.
However, one thought did occur to me when watching Lord Taylor on Channel four news. It is hard to imagine one of the old hereditary peer behaving in such an entrepreneurial manner.
2 comments:
The apology might've sounded slightly less forced if it didn't have the "if" in front of it
"However, one thought did occur to me when watching Lord Taylor on Channel four news. It is hard to imagine one of the old hereditary peer behaving in such an entrepreneurial manner"
Quite.
I've always hated the fact that the Lords 'had' to be reformed simply because of that rather awkward hereditary thing... but forgetting that a House populated with some stuffy old duffers with generations old money and status had some very positive advantages.
I recall some years ago, a Lord (I forget who) saying that the reason for his independence and honesty was the feeling that his role was beyond just the man of the now. That he had the weight of 15 generations before and hopefully the 15 after him to think about. A nice contrast, I thought, to the 5 year term of the crooks in the other house he had to watch over.
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