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An elected second chamber would help repair our broken politics
The Labour Party is taking a genuine turn against unaccountable power. NANCY PLATTS explains
Unaccountable: the House of Lords

IN THE clamour of the Commons Brexit debate yesterday, the word “democracy” rang out through the hall (that word was said nearly 30 times). Yet just down the corridor, a undemocratic disaster was taking place.

While elected MPs debated Britain’s future, the results came out for the latest in a series of bizarre House of Lords “by-elections.”

The vote — to fill the vacant seat following the death of Viscount Slim — saw just 28 votes cast. The only people who could vote were aristocrats who currently sit as cross-bench hereditary peers.

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