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DAVID CAMERON’S plan to pack the House of Lords with Tory pals will cost taxpayers millions, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) warned yesterday.
Calls for the Lords to be scrapped grew this week after deputy speaker Lord Sewel resigned having been pictured snorting cocaine with prostitutes.
But the Prime Minister ruled out any reform and instead plans to appoint at least 50 more peers this summer.
ERS warned Mr Cameron’s plans to hand even more “party hacks and donors” a job for life will cost the public at least £1.3 million.
The campaign predicts that the number of new peers appointed during this parliament could reach 100 and cost the public £2.6m.
That would mean there would be 240 more unelected peers than MPs by 2020.
And ERS deputy chief executive Darren Hughes said it was “frankly shocking” to be considering making more political appointments.
“Our unelected House of Lords is growing out of control, and shows no sign of slowing down,” he said.
“Each Lord costs the tax-payer nearly £120,000 a year.
“It can’t be right that when politicians are talking about reducing the cost of politics, they’re set to stuff the upper chamber with yet more party appointees.”
An ERS analysis of House of Lords accounts shows it cost taxpayers £93.1m to run the unelected second chamber in 2013-14.
And with every one of the current 790 peers entitled to a £300-a-day allowance, ERS say each peer received £120,000 in subsidies every year.
A House of Lords spokesman said that the daily allowance, introduced in 2010, covered all the peers’ expenses.
He said: “From this allowance, members are expected to pay for any costs associated with attending the House such as their London accommodation, as well as staff cost.”
But Communist Party of Britain general secretary Rob Griffiths said: “There would be no need for a second chamber if we made moonlighting MPs do a full-time job.
“The House of Lords should be scrapped and radical reform of Parliament is needed to take account of the need for a federal Britain with an English legislature.
“A chamber full of legislators there by dint of patronage or birth is the complete opposite of democracy.”