Andy Burnham’s Lords reforms could ‘blow a constitutional fuse’

Andy Burnham risks “blowing a constitutional fuse” with his plan to “rewire” the political system, Michael Forsyth has said.

The former Scottish Secretary was made Lord Speaker of the House of Lords earlier this year.

In his first major speech since entering the role, the ex-Stirling MP has warned the incoming prime minister against any moves to replace the House of Lords with an elected senate.

Forsyth, who led the Scotland Office in John Major’s government, said a new appointments system could instead be brought in to make the Lords stronger.

He said: “There has been talk recently about rewiring our constitutional arrangements. Any electrician would tell you, if you get your wires crossed, you may be in for a nasty shock.

“The House of Lords is a kind of constitutional trip-switch, forcing a reset on bad laws which have not been properly considered by the elected House. Anyone advocating rewiring politics needs to consider very carefully, will their new system keep the lights on or will it blow a constitutional fuse?”

Burnham is expected to be confirmed as the new Labour leader tomorrow, and to officially succeed Keir Starmer as prime minister from Monday.

He has proposed the establishment of a “Number 10 North” in Manchester which would be the “nerve centre of a rewired Britain” and oversee greater devolution away from Westminster.

He said an overhaul of the Upper Chamber should be “the first place to look” to cut “the cost of politics”, and that he would pursue “early change” as soon as “the 2029 general election or beyond”.

A senate of regions and nations with seats for England’s metro mayors could be created in its stead.

Burnham said: “I don't think we can justify half of our national legislature being unelected. I think this is something that is, in many ways, quite scandalous.”

Forsyth was a Tory MP and peer before taking up the impartial Lord Speaker role.

In his speech, he said the Lords had agreed more than 2,000 changes to legislation in the 2024-2026 parliamentary session, removing flaws from “half-formed” proposals by MPs which could have caused “serious damage”.

He said initiatives by the House include the ban on deepfake pornographic material and social media use by children, rewriting terrorist legislation to avoid accidentally pulling journalists into prosecutions, and pushing the government into more effective action on sewage in waterways and the illegal dumping of waste.

Forsyth said: “Ultimately the justification for the House’s existence is that its work improves the quality of legislation produced by parliament, and thereby the lives of the people of our country.”

On Burnham’s proposed changes, he said: “Would an elected Upper House attract members with the same high level of expertise... as the current Lords, or would it be dominated by career politicians? Would elected members be willing to focus on scrutiny of legislation or would they concentrate on constituency work and media appearances to boost their chances of re-election?

“Would members of an elected Upper House accept that the Commons must have the final say or would they feel free to attempt to block or kill legislation, risking the kind of gridlock regularly seen in the US Congress?”

He went on: “I urge anyone advocating radical reform [to the Lords] to first do their homework. Ensure that they understand the work that the House of Lords does to improve law on behalf of voters; consider whether their proposed alternative format for the Upper House would be suited to the task of detailed scrutiny and revision of legislation; and ask themselves, if it would not be suited, then who would do this work – or would this work not be done at all?”

On the composition of the House, he said an independent nominating body could be set up to ensure greater geographical balance, with powers to vet political nominees. Meanwhile, the power of PMs to appoint unlimited numbers of peers could end through voluntary or legal means and the existing House of Lords Appointments Commission could be allowed to nominate more than two life peers annually.

Forsyth said: “I recognise that no politician wants to give up powers of patronage. However, I believe it is time for political leaders of all stripes to give serious attention to measures which can build trust in our political system.”