The Persistent Commoner
TitE House of Lords is not, at present, an overwhelmingly serious body, and it might be argued that the reluctant accession to it of Mr. Anthony Wedgwood Benn would not make it much more so. Moreover, Mr. Benn's reluc- tance to join it seems to some extent surprising; whether or no there is ever again another Labour Government, the prospects for Mr. Benn's-politi- cal career would seem to be much rosier if he were in the House of Lords. After all, the Foreign Secretary may sit there, and Mr. Benn, even in his most sanguine moments, can hardly aspire to any office higher than that.
Nevertheless, Mr. Benn must be allowed the right to decide his own preference. There is something worse than absurd in the spectacle, at this date, of a man being forcibly excluded from the chance of pursuing the kind of political career he wishes by the accident of his father's ennoblement and his elder brother's death in war. Mr. Benn is wise to insist, both in everything he has said on the subject and in the Bill be has sponsored with the help of MPs of all parties (and all groups within them), that any change in the law or the constitutional practice must apply generally, and not only to him. But it is not easy to see a method of accommodating him. The Government appears adamant in its inten- tion to kill Mr. Benn's Bill; but has been singularly unforthcoming where alternative sug- gestions for the removal of a distasteful injustice are concerned. It might be argued that the time has come for a radical reorganisation of the House of Lords, its powers as well as its com- position, but to this the Government seems even less likely to agree. But whatever the outcome, rational men must surely agree that the present situation is indefensible. Mr. Benn may not be the weightiest or most immediately appealing figure in the political landscape; but he has fought his fight with vigour and ingenuity (it is worth remarking that throughout his prepara- tions for the inevitable day he had the full sup- port and encouragement of his father), and he deserves to succeed.
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