Tommy Sheppard, SNP MP and spokesman, has proposed that peers use Oyster-style cards to tap in and out of the House of Lords, to prove how much time they’re at Westminster.
The proposal, he says, is also designed for MPs, using the rationale that it would serve as a useful security check in the event of a terrorist attack. Sure, Tommy (wink).
In truth, it looks as if it is chiefly aimed at those peers who are claiming £300 in expenses a day, regardless of when they arrive and depart – and when I say “depart”, I mean, instantly, seconds after signing in, back into their waiting cab – as witnessed by the former Lord Speaker, Lady D’Souza.
There are two sides to this. On the one hand, what’s not to love about the thought of peers, especially the cheeky, skiving ones, clocking on and off, like humble factory workers, perchance patting the ermine for their Lords Oyster card? However, considering how some Commons Brexit votes have gone, I’m rather less exercised about the peers showing up than I am by how to stop all the craven Brexit-facilitating MPs from showing up. I’m putting my faith in Mr Sheppard to come up with something good.
