More than 900 years of tradition comes to an end this week when hereditary peers leave Parliament for the last time.
Yet there will be no formal ceremony to mark such a historic occasion, not even a government statement.
The truth is Labour has long had it in for the hereditaries, with Tony Blair axing more than 600 in 1999, describing them as an ‘anachronism’. Just 92 were spared in a temporary compromise but that arrangement ends on Wednesday.
Not everyone is taking their dismissal lying down. Charles Courtenay, the 19th Earl of Devon, a barrister who was once married to former Baywatch actress A. J. Langer, complained that, as his family had been in the Lords for 900 years, a notice period of 27 years was less than that required under employment law. ‘I think this House, Parliament and the public more widely will miss us,’ he said.
Charles Courtenay, the 19th Earl of Devon, a barrister who was once married to former Baywatch actress A. J. Langer
While there was a farewell dinner for some of the peers in Parliament’s Churchill room last week, the lack of any formal event appears to indicate that Labour would rather not advertise the fact they’ve succeeded in creating a wholly appointed (not elected) upper house.
One hereditary, who served as a minister – unpaid – for many years, told me: ‘Labour hates us. This is class war envy of the worst kind. We will leave with our heads held high.’
Will historian Anna Keay – who, it was announced recently, will be the late Queen’s official biographer – discover exactly what the then PM Tony Blair told HM, Head of the Armed Forces, about the 2003 Iraq War? Perhaps the files are hidden away under a 100-year rule, leaving Keay to rely on the Queen’s private diary for details that should be in the public domain.
In the Commons, Labour MP Perran Moon urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to ‘support the switch to electric vehicles’. But does posh second-hand car salesman Moon’s motivation go deeper? At the election he was given £10,000 by Danny Luhde-
Thompson, whose Quadrature firm invests heavily in… electric vehicles. Should Moon not have acknowledged that?
Our globetrotting PM was once nicknamed ‘Never Here Keir’. Now, I hear, following his sacking of Olly Robbins, Starmer is being referred to as ‘The Buck Never Stops Here Keir’.
One of the stars of the Select Committee’s interrogation of sacked mandarin Sir Olly Robbins last week was Tory MP Aphra Brandreth.
If the surname sounds familiar, it’s because her father is the author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, who told The Third Act podcast about canvassing for his daughter: ‘I rang a doorbell and a very grumpy man came to the door in his pyjamas. The pyjamas were not properly adjusted.’
After urging the man to vote for Aphra because she offers ‘integrity and intelligence’, Gyles recalled: ‘He looked at me and said: “Are you sure she’s your daughter?” ’
DON’T MENTION THE WAR, CHARLES!
The King’s diplomatic skills will be put to the test when President Trump hosts a state banquet at the White House tomorrow, given that so many topics will be off-limits.
His Majesty will obviously be advised: ‘Don’t mention the war.’ But oil, the Royal Navy, Harry and Meghan, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Fergie and Jeffrey Epstein will also be taboo.
Luckily, being an Englishman, there’s always the weather.
Mischievous former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie quips: ‘Huw Edwards announced as new US ambassador after successfully passing Labour vetting process.’
