Keep a Private Eye on the Lords

Well, I survived my interview with satirical supremo Private Eye magazine yesterday. Although, as someone must have once said, “if you swim with the sharks you are likely to pick up a scratch” so I await the outcome with shark bated breath (excuse the terrible pun). 

It isn’t the sort of magazine I (or many others for that matter) would proactively approach for press coverage but the writer seemed genuinely interested in our work and it was a good opportunity to get over what we do. He certainly had some interesting questions that were useful to gain an outside perspective how others see us.

I don’t think he was interested in putting the Editor forward for a Queen’s honour or an outstanding personal achievement award. The writer was most interested in the House of Lords and our service in helping clients with applications to join the Upper House.

He had lots of facts and figures at his finger tips and in fact he has made a detailed study of the number of peers who have joined the House of Lords in recent years and their backgrounds.

His research is fascinating in that he has looked at political appointees to the House of Lords and found a link with party political donations – the first time this has been documented in academic research. 

We of course don’t get involved in those appointees and our service relates to the small number of cross-benchers who are appointed on the basis of their expertise and special skills on a non party-political basis. 

They may be a small number but according to Lord Ajay Kakkar, the Chairman of the Lords Appointments Commission the Upper House is still very much open for business in seeking to attract people who can make a distinctive contribution.

Here is what he has to say on the front page of their website:

“The Commission wishes to make further appointments to the independent cross benches that will add to the breadth of experience and expertise that already exists within the House of Lords, and also help ensure the House fully represents diversity within our country.

“If you believe you are a potential candidate, with the expertise required and a willingness to commit to this challenging role, please review the appropriate pages on our website for further information about the application process.”

Who knows who may be in the next batch of cross benchers announced by the House of Lords – could it be someone from the world of satire? We’ll have to wait and see!

Here’s a link for more information about applying to the House of Lords