Peers in the House of Lords breaking rules on transparency

Peers in the House of Lords are failing to follow even the most simple rules on transparency and accountability.

Unlock Democracy has written to the Lord’s Commissioner for Standards to report the names of 40 peers who we believe are breaking transparency rules.

The Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Lords requires the Lords to declare any company that they are a director of.  They must also “give a broad indication of the company’s business, where this is not self-evident from its name.”

Yet an investigation by openDemocracy discovered that 40 peers have failed to give an indication of their company’s business. 

For example, Labour peer Lord Carter of Coles, is a director of a Bermuda-based company called ‘Primary Group Limited’. He has not provided any indication of what ‘Primary Group Limited’ do. Another peer, Conservative Lord Bamford, is a director of a company called Editallied Limited. But again, no further details are provided.

Director of Unlock Democracy, Tom Brake, said: “The rules are clear, but many peers have chosen not to follow them. This should be investigated immediately.

“Our democracy benefits when a clearer explanation of peers’ business interests is provided.

“The Commissioner must promptly enforce the Code of Conduct to ensure everyone knows what type of business peers are engaged in and how this might influence their activities in Parliament.”

The Electoral Reform Society are also appalled at this rule-breaking, saying that our Parliament is now “the laughing stock of the democratic world.”

ERS chief Darren Hughes said: “We’ve long known about the lack of accountability and transparency that plagues the House of Lords, and the fact that so many peers have failed to meet even the most lax of reporting rules raises serious questions about the extent and influence of outside interests in our second chamber.”

Transparency and accountability are vital to a healthy democracy so we will continue to challenge peers who are flouting transparency rules. 

You can read more about this story on openDemocracy’s website