Surely the number of MPs representing Wales and elsewhere should be increased rather than reduced as proposed (Report, 10 January) to maximise public representation at a time when membership of the unelected House of Lords continues to grow inexorably. One of the arguments for reducing the number of MPs is to make cost savings, but the costs of the Lords continue to grow, to no democratic advantage. Despite occasionally stirring itself to oppose a government with a questionable mandate, the Lords has a permanent Tory-Lib Dem majority and consists largely of a motley crew of party loyalists, time-servers and donors, with even a few convicted fraudsters, each entitled to over £300 per attendance. Many attend daily, but briefly, without speaking, and few seriously expect the proposals for an elected Lords to be implemented. But it is almost certain that the size of the unelected Lords will continue to grow while the number of elected people's representatives diminishes.
Tony Judge
Twickenham, Middlesex
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