An Appointed Upper House: Lessons from Canada

In: (Constitution Unit Publications 29 ). The Constitution Unit, Department of Political Science, UCL: London, UK.

Abstract

The abolition of hereditary peers' rights will leave the UK with a wholly appointed transitional upper house. The second stage will be decided only after a Royal Commission has reported. This briefing looks at the lessons to be learned from the only other wholly appointed upper house in a western democracy: the Canadian Senate. Experience from Canada suggests that without proper safeguards there could be high levels of cynicism about the transitional appointed house. It will be essential to reform the appointments system to the new chamber, and to ensure that momentum is kept up for the second stage. Despite consensus on the need to change, the Canadian Senate still remains unreformed after a century of debate. This is the first in a series of briefings about lessons from second chambers around the world.