Lord Nicholas True, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords, has defended hereditary peers against claims they are blocking Angela Rayner's employment bill. In a letter responding to a recent article, he argued that those criticising the peers are themselves out of touch with business realities.
True highlighted that many hereditary peers have extensive experience in running businesses, contrasting them with cabinet members who lack such backgrounds. He pointed to current economic figures: unemployment at 5%, 1.7 million people on benefits, and government analysis showing the bill would cost businesses £5,000 million annually.
The Lords' stand is backed by organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI, the Institute of Directors, Make UK, and Care England, as well as former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair. True noted that the government would have suffered heavy defeats even without any hereditary peer participation.
He emphasised that Conservative, Liberal Democrat, crossbench, Unionist, and non-affiliated peers all joined to amend the bill. True concluded that it is a distraction to focus on hereditary peers when fewer than two-thirds of Labour peers supported the bill.
