Slim down the second chamber

Published on 08/07/2012 00:00

GERALD Warner’s piece (Insight, 1 July) brings to mind his article of 2 October last year in which he argued that only independent electoral candidates should be allowed.

That should certainly apply to any reformed second chamber, which should be as different as possible from the Commons. No party politics should be allowed.

No-one who has held any political office should be considered; that is the province of parliamentary government. This supervisory body should also be much smaller than the Commons and advisory in nature, facilitating consultation before legislation is framed, rather than revising it later.

Senior law officers would need to be appointed to ensure legal compliance with domestic and European legislation. Manufacturing, agriculture, science and the financial sector would be examples of suitable backgrounds for candidates, but I see no place for religious representation.

There is actually no need for this to be other than an ad hoc body, meeting as and when required, so that businessmen, for example, could carry on with their own careers.

Robert Dow, Tranent