Random Notes

Mr Blair, during his eight years, has appointed 327 lords and ladies - excluding Lord Adonis ...Mr. Blair's appointment of peers has taken place alongside radical reform of the upper house. In 1999 all but 92 of the hereditary peers - the sons and daughters of barons, viscounts, earls, marqueesses, dukes who were members on account of their aristocratic birth - were barred from the Lords. The hereditaries, more than 600, were mostly Conservatives.

Thanks largely to Mr. Blair’s appointments, there are now about 700 lords and ladies, nearly all appointed ‘life peers’ and thus can not pass on their titles. Critics say the result is an upper chamber packed with political cronies that still lacks political legitimacy.

Mr. Blair has promised to remove the remaining hereditaries during his third term and is expected to reveal plans for the future composition of the Lords soon.

..Once in the Lords, peers who are not government ministers do not receive a salary. They are entitled to $215 for overnight accommodation and a $64 daily attendance allowance.

The costs of buying or renting the ermine robes required on introduction of new peers or at the annual state opening of parliament are borne by the lords and ladies themselves. Hiring one costs £118 a day. To buy a set costs £6985 though peers are known to recoup some of this by renting out their robes to other members.