"Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord"
Robert Burns hit the nail on the head in his famous poem - 'A Man's A Man'.
"Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord
What struts, and stares, an a' that
Though hundreds worship at his word
He's but a cuif for a' that"
The House of Lords is still packed to the rafters with knaves and fools - 736 of them as of April 2010 - 89 more than the 647 strong House of Commons - with more to come as the new government brings in plans to 'reform' the system.
The last Labour government had plans too - but after 13 years in power the second chamber was and remains largely unreconstructed - dominated by retired, unaccountable, second-rate politicians.
Insult is about to be added to injury as the likes of John Prescott and Michael Howard are invited to don their ermine robes.
John Prescott, former union rep, class warrior and deputy prime minister - will continue to have his nose in the public trough - along with Michael Howard, former Tory leader and Home Secretary - once famously described as 'having something of the night about him'
At a time when the public finances are in such a dreadful state - the best thing to do with the House of Lords would be to abolish it altogether.
Who needs a second chamber anyway?
"Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord
What struts, and stares, an a' that
Though hundreds worship at his word
He's but a cuif for a' that"
The House of Lords is still packed to the rafters with knaves and fools - 736 of them as of April 2010 - 89 more than the 647 strong House of Commons - with more to come as the new government brings in plans to 'reform' the system.
The last Labour government had plans too - but after 13 years in power the second chamber was and remains largely unreconstructed - dominated by retired, unaccountable, second-rate politicians.
Insult is about to be added to injury as the likes of John Prescott and Michael Howard are invited to don their ermine robes.
John Prescott, former union rep, class warrior and deputy prime minister - will continue to have his nose in the public trough - along with Michael Howard, former Tory leader and Home Secretary - once famously described as 'having something of the night about him'
At a time when the public finances are in such a dreadful state - the best thing to do with the House of Lords would be to abolish it altogether.
Who needs a second chamber anyway?
