Lord above

I have been trying to think of the last time being a peer actually amounted to something. I think it was the early part of the 19th century, when someone with a title was seriously rich and had thousands of tenants looking up to him, over whom he wielded considerable powers.

Now it is a squalid business, the House of Lords being inhabited by failed politicians, time servers and chancers. A couple of peers, including Lord Taylor of Warwick (pictured) are being investigated by the police for fiddling their expenses.

I once heard Helena (Baroness) Kennedy say that rather than being Lady Kennedy she should simply have ML (Member of the House of Lords) after her name. I disagreed at the time, but now I am not so sure.

If we are not going to abolish it completely, and there is a case for this, when the very necessary move to elected members happens I believe we should change the name of the House to The Senate. I am certainly fed up with using the same name for John Taylor as I do for the Almighty.