Whatever the abilities (in some cases lack of) of the new peers, this never ending cycle of appointments to the House of Lords for each side to try to rebalance is beyond a joke. We are a 21st century country with 19th century politics inbuilt into the system. The only reason a progressive minded person should take a peerage is to do all they can to get rid of the Lords. We need a total overhaul of our constitution, and the way politics is done. Politics is not working and won’t work again until we admit that the systems we complacently take for granted are among the reasons so many people feel alienated from the whole bloody thing.