Saturday, September 19, 2015

Lord Bonkers' Diary: Freddie and Fiona OBE

Saturday

Did you see some fool suggesting that there should be a mandatory retirement age for peers? The very idea! Fortunately, my own peerage is one of the Rutland variety, which is governed by quite different rules – not least because I chair the committee that looks after such matters.

However, it cannot be denied that there is a problem with overcrowding in the Upper House: it is hard to get table for tea these days and the I was obliged to give my last speech on the Consolidate Fund Bill while sitting on the lap of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Comfortable though it was, this is a less than acceptable arrangement.

Moreover, it is only going to get worse. Poor Clegg has rewarded all his advisers (Freddie and Fiona both now have OBEs, for instance), with some of them getting peerages. I have to say that, judging by our results in May, I am not convinced that having advised Clegg is any qualification for a place in the legislature.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.


Previously in Lord Bonkers' Diary...

Tuesday: Straight Outta Nick Compton
Wednesday: "Row Splits Liberal Party"
Thursday: Paying our respects to Stephen Lewis

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