The House of Lords changed the rules last month to protect its members from the possibility of prosecution. The two Lords that have derived advantage from this change in the rules are Baroness Uddin and Lord Paul. The source of this abuse of self-regulation is the Labour Party, whose approach to sleaze is condemnation of others and hypocrisy for the party.
Self-regulation works if all parties do not attempt to derive advantage. Since 1997, the Labour Party has rewritten the rules of the game in its favour. They view Parliament as the House of Labour. Ironic when one of their own is frustrated at the contempt for law this approach engenders:
Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, denounced the change, which was made last month. It allows peers to designate as their main home a property they visit no more than once a month — a ruling Mr Starmer said caused him “very real difficulty”.